Top 50 Larry Bird Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.”

— Larry Bird

Featured in: Motivational Monday Quotes, Athlete Quotes, Excellence Quotes, Winning Quotes, Work Ethic Quotes

2. “Push yourself again and again. Don’t give an inch until the final buzzer sounds.”

— Larry Bird

Featured in: Athlete Quotes, Giving Up Quotes, Greatness Quotes, Quotes About Giving, Work Hard Quotes

3. “First master the fundamentals.”

— Larry Bird

Featured in: Firsts Quotes, Mastery Quotes, Basketball Quotes

4. “I hate to lose more than I like to win.”

— Larry Bird

5. “I wasn’t real quick, and I wasn’t real strong. Some guys will just take off and it’s like, whoa. So I beat them with my mind and my fundamentals.”

— Larry Bird

Featured in: Strong Quotes

6. “Once you are labeled ‘the best’ you want to stay up there, and you can’t do it by loafing around.”

— Larry Bird

7. “It makes me sick when I see a guy just stare at a loose ball and watch it go out of bounds.”

— Larry Bird

8. “I’m a firm believer in that you play the way you practice.”

— Larry Bird

9. “My coach told me, “Larry, no matter how much you work at it, there’s always someone out there who’s working just a little harder – if you take 150 practice shots, he’s taking 200.” And that drove me.”

— Larry Bird

10. “It doesn’t matter who scores the points, it’s who can get the ball to the scorer.”

— Larry Bird

11. “I’ve got a theory that if you give 100% all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end.”

— Larry Bird

12. “Don’t let winning make you soft. Don’t let losing make you quit. Don’t let your teammates down in any situation.”

— Larry Bird

13. “Michael Jordan is God disguised as a basketball player.”

— Larry Bird

14. “When I was young, I never wanted to leave the court until I got things exactly correct. My dream was to become a pro.”

— Larry Bird

15. “In the closing seconds of every game, I want the ball in my hands for the last shot – not in anybody else’s, not in anybody else’s in the world.”

— Larry Bird

16. “There are many times when you are better off practicing than playing; but most people just don’t understand that.”

— Larry Bird

17. “When I go to the line I’m thinking ‘All net.’ When I don’t think that, I’m likely to miss.”

— Larry Bird

18. “Basketball has been my life and I worked at it so hard because I enjoyed it so much.”

— Larry Bird

19. “Practice habits were crucial to my development in basketball. I didn’t play against the toughest competition in high school, but one reason I was able to do well in college was that I mastered the fundamentals. You’ve got to have them down before you can even think about playing.”

— Larry Bird

20. “You can make all the excuses you want, but if you’re not mentally tough and you’re not prepared to play every night, you’re not going to win.”

— Larry Bird

21. “The nature of competition is such that any number of people invariably have their eyes on the same prize you do. Recognize your assets and employ them to the best of your ability.”

— Larry Bird

22. “I think you have to work very hard and dedicate yourself and have the respect of your teammates before you’re about to go out and just try to take a game over by yourself.”

— Larry Bird

23. “You never make any of the shots you never take. 87% of the ones you do take, you’ll miss too. I make 110% of my shots.”

— Larry Bird

24. “As far as playing, I didn’t care who guarded me – red, yellow, black. I just didn’t want a white guy guarding me, because it’s disrespect to my game.”

— Larry Bird

25. “I just shoot until I feel good.”

— Larry Bird

26. “I think a lot of blue collar people related to me because a lot of people work for their money.”

— Larry Bird

27. “My opinion about basketball, the way I was taught, was when you step on the court, you play to win.”

— Larry Bird

28. “I don’t think that once you get to one level, you can relax. You’ve got to keep pushing.”

— Larry Bird

29. “I have always been confident in my skills and once the game got going I knew I was probably the best player on the floor most of the time whether it was junior high, high school or college. I knew I had control of the game.”

— Larry Bird

30. “When I was a player, I didn’t expect my teammates to play the way I did. I did expect them to work hard hard every day and get better. And I never learned anything by losing.”

— Larry Bird

31. “I learned what my weaknesses were and I went out the next day to turn those weaknesses intro strengths.”

— Larry Bird

32. “I knew I was as good as anybody. That’s not really bragging; it’s just that I’d put the time in.”

— Larry Bird

33. “Anytime you’ve got an opportunity to play for your country and win a gold medal, I think that takes it all. That’s the greatest thing you could ever achieve in your sport. So, I have been very fortunate to play on great teams, but the gold medal was probably the best.”

— Larry Bird

34. “I wanted to compete at the highest level again – and that’s the NBA.”

— Larry Bird

35. “If there was a payment to the bank due, and we needed shoes, she’d get the shoes, and then deal with them guys at the bank. I don’t mean she wouldn’t pay the bank, but the children always came first.”

— Larry Bird

36. “I really don’t like talking about money. All I can say is that the Good Lord must have wanted me to have it.”

— Larry Bird

37. “But it is a black man’s game, and it will be forever.”

— Larry Bird

38. “Eminem. My son was listening to that and I was like, “What is that junk?” Then I started listening and I thought, You know, that kid is pretty good. It’s the storytelling.”

— Larry Bird

39. “What’s better? Dogs or broomsticks? I mean will the world really ever know?”

— Larry Bird

40. “Strength is not nearly as important as desire. I don’t think you can teach anyone desire. I think it’s a gift. I don’t know why I have it, but I do.”

— Larry Bird

41. “I always know what’s happening on the court. I see a situation occur, and I respond.”

— Larry Bird

42. “The best basketball announcer is one who allows you to close your eyes.”

— Larry Bird

43. “I used to love the feeling of running, of running too far. It made my skin tingle.”

— Larry Bird

44. “I can see why fans don’t like to watch pro basketball. I don’t, either. It’s not exciting.”

— Larry Bird

45. “My name’s been on this check for a week now.”

— Larry Bird

46. “I like being by myself.”

— Larry Bird

47. “My goal was just to try and be the best player on my high school team, and look where I am now. And that was still my goal as a young kid, just to try and be a little better than my brother was.”

— Larry Bird

48. “I don’t know if I practiced more than anybody, but I sure practiced enough. I still wonder if somebody – somewhere – was practicing more than me.”

— Larry Bird

49. “Coaches can talk and talk and talk about something, but if you get it on tape and show it to them, it is so much more effective.”

— Larry Bird

50. “Who in their right mind wouldn’t listen to what Larry Bird tells them? He knows what it takes to be a successful player, and he’s letting us do the things to have the success.”

— Larry Bird