Top 100+ NBA Quotes From The Most Iconic Basketball Champions

“I can’t accept failures, but I can’t accept not trying”, as Michael Jordan said it, many basketball fans get inspired from time to time from thrilling NBA quotes.

NBA is a National Basketball Association from North-America consisting of 30 teams in the league. NBA quotes don't just introduce us to the game of basketball but they motivate many younger minds to achieve success.

Whether it be NBA young boy quotes about love or NBA jam announcer quotes, there is no dearth of meaningful sport quotes from the league for the fans to enjoy. Some of the most popular players from the league include Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Larry Bird and they have authored many great basketball quotes. There are many basketball champions from NBA who we love with all our hearts. Here are the best NBA quotes from some of the most famous basketball champions to inspire and motivate you.

If you like these basketball quotes, do not forget to check out Larry Bird quotes and basketball quotes.

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NBA motivational quotes and quotations about games are enjoyed by the fans all over the world. Here are the best NBA quotes by famous basketball players along with some interesting coaching quotes and basketball quotes by Michael Jordan and other great players.

1. “A lot of late nights in the gym, a lot of early mornings, especially when your friends are going out, you're going to the gym, those are the sacrifices that you have to make if you want to be an NBA basketball player.”

- Jason Kidd.

2. “Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates.”

- Magic Johnson.

3. “Coaching is easy. Winning is the hard part.”

- Elgin Baylor.

4. “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

- Michael Jordan.

5. “I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.”

- Michael Jordan.

6. “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.”

- Kevin Durant.

7. “Technology is changing the world; it's changing our sport. It's changing the way people are following the NBA.”

- Adam Silver.

8. “I just realized that basketball and going to the NBA was a possibility, and that's something that I want to use to better my family and possibly help the world if I can.”

- Greg Oden.

9. “I can dunk! I can dunk, and not just in NBA Live.”

- Chris Paul.

10. “We’re not in trouble, but if we think we’re not in trouble, we’re in trouble.”

- Mike D’Antoni.

11. “We got blown out in Portland. He took everybody Kobe’s and said they couldn’t wear it because we were soft.”

- Lou Williams.

12. “Joe be running like he running from the police.”

- Jaylen Brown.

13. “The invention of basketball was not an accident. It was developed to meet a need. Those boys simply would not play ‘Drop the Handkerchief.”

- James Naismith.

14. “If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

- Michael Jordan.

15. “There is no such thing as a perfect basketball player, and I don’t believe there is only one greatest player either.”

- Michael Jordan.

16. “Love never fails. The character never quits. And with patience and persistence, dreams do come true.”

- Pete Maravich.

17. “Me shooting 40% at the foul line is just God’s way to say nobody’s perfect.”

- Shaquille O’Neal.

18. “I don’t complain about playing time. My job is to play so well that my coach can’t sit me.”

- Shane Battier.

19. “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”

- Michael Jordan.

20. “Anything can happen with hard work and dedication.”

- Jerry West.

NBA quotes about basketball lines and famous teammates quote are enjoyed by fans and players alike. Check out some of the most iconic NBA quotes by the most iconic basketball legends including great Michael Jordan basketball quotes and famous Kobe quotes.

21. “When I lose the sense of motivation and the sense to prove something as a basketball player, it’s time for me to move away from the game.”

- Michael Jordan.

22. “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.

23. “If you are trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I have had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you.”

- Michael Jordan.

24. “Shooting percentage is just as much about decision making as it is about technique.”

- Jeff Van Gundy.

25. “Young men need more models, not critics.”

- John Wooden.

26. “What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player.”

- John Wooden.

27. “You have teenagers thinking they're going to make millions as NBA stars when that's not realistic for even 1 percent of them. Becoming a scientist or engineer is.”

- Dean Kamen.

28. “I’ve always believed that success for anyone is all about drive, dedication, and desire, but for me, it’s also been about confidence and faith.”

- Stephen Curry.

29. “If you don’t fall how are you going to know what getting up is like?”

- Stephen Curry.

30. “We don't have selfish guys here, which sometimes leads to problems.”

- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

31. “The constant expansion has diluted (hurt) the talent, but other than that, it is still the same game.”

- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

32. “One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.”

- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

33. “I'll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it's sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.”

- Kobe Bryant.

34. “We don’t quit, we don’t cower, we don’t run. We endure and conquer.”

- Kobe Bryant.

35. “The moment you give up is the moment you let someone else win.”

- Kobe Bryant.

36. “Any time Detroit scores more than 100 points and holds the other team below 100 points, they almost always win.”

- Doug Collins.

37. “I've had to overcome a lot of diversity.”

- Drew Gooden.

38. “I made a 1,600 minus 800 minus 200 on the SAT, so I'm very intelligent when I speak.”

- Shaq.

39. “Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best.”

-  Tim Duncan.

40. “If you are afraid of failure you don’t deserve to be successful.”

- Charles Barkley.

Basketball is all about hard work and motivation to do more. Here are the best motivational NBA quotes along with NBA finals quotes and basketball quotes for girls to motivate you for achieving success.

41. “Gotta keep my head above water, gotta make it through.”

- NBA YoungBoy.

42. “I don’t really talk that much. I just watch and observe.”

- NBA YoungBoy.

43. “I just wanna wrap you up and hold you in my arms for the night. You have been gone for so long, let’s celebrate that we unite.”

- NBA YoungBoy.

44. “June 2010, after winning his fifth title: “I just got one more than Shaq. So you can take that to the bank.”

- Kobe Bryant.

45. “As I sit here now when I take off my shoe and I look down at my scar, I see the beauty in it. I see all the hard work, all the sacrifices. I see the journey that it took to get back to this point of being healthy. And I see the beauty in that struggle. That’s what makes it beautiful.”

- Kobe Bryant.

46. “If you are afraid to fail, then you are probably going to fail.”

- Kobe Bryant.

47. “Create unselfishness as the most important team attribute.”

- Bill Russell.

48. “Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory.”

- Bill Russell.

49. “Don’t be afraid of failure. This is the way to succeed.”

- LeBron James.

50. “The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.”

- Phil Jackson.

51. “To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish. Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don't isolate.”

- Michael Jordan.

52. “Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.”

- John Wooden.

53. “I've always been interested in jobs in the NBA. But I've been in this for 20 years and it might be time to do something else.”

- Larry Bird.

54. “I wanted to compete at the highest level again - and that's the NBA.”

- Larry Bird.

55. “The first time I stepped on an NBA court I became a businessman.”

- LeBron James.

56. “I know that I’m never as good or bad as any single performance. I’ve never believed my critics or my worshippers, and I’ve always been able to leave the game at the arena.”

- Charles Barkley.

57. “The only difference between a good shot and a bad shot is if it goes in or not.”

- Charles Barkley.

58. “I always laugh when people ask me about rebounding techniques. I’ve got a technique. It’s called just go get the damn ball.”

- Charles Barkley.

59. “Don’t let what other people think to decide who you are.”

- Dennis Rodman.

60. “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.”

- Michael Jordan.

Many basketball champions inspire us with their legendary games and heartfelt sayings. Here are the best inspirational quotes along with best NBA players quotes and NBA jams quotes from NBA to inspire you.

61. “I’ve never been afraid of big moments. I get butterflies…I get nervous and anxious, but I think those are all good signs that I’m ready for the moment.”

- Stephen Curry.

62. “The important thing is that your teammates have to know you’re pulling for them and you really want them to be successful.”

- Kobe Bryant.

63. “I’m like a tax. You’re going to pay one way or the other.”

- Shaquille O’Neal.

64. “My favorite Knicks moment was when we beat Indiana in Game 7 to reach the NBA Finals. We worked so hard as a team to reach that moment that it was very satisfying to beat Indiana and reach the Finals.”

- John Starks.

65. “A movie like House of the Dead with around $7 million budget or Alone in the Dark with around $16 million budget is much easier to make a profit than the typical $50 million major motion picture.”

- Uwe Boll.

66. “Success is not an accident, success is actually a choice.”

- Stephen Curry.

67. “I’ll let you go watch the J. Cole concert if you all get your ass back on transition.”

- Mike Malone.

68. “I don’t really have a favorite player to guard. I guess somebody on the bench who doesn’t play. It’s easier to guard them.”

- Kawhi Leonard.

69. “People love saying the name. I’m like Elvis. Swaggy Presley.”

- Nick Young.

70. “If they took the idea that they could escape poverty through education, I think it would make a more basic and long-lasting change in the way things happen. What we need are positive, realistic goals and the willingness to work. Hard work and practical goals.”

- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

71. “I think the NBA will certainly survive without Michael Jordan.”

- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

72. “My most memorable moment came in 1985 as we beat the Boston Celtics.”

- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

73. “You can't win unless you learn how to lose.”

- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

74. “Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.”

- LeBron James.

75. “Great players are willing to give up their own personal achievement for the achievement of the group. It enhances everybody.”

- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

76. “If not shown appreciation, it gets to you.”

- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

77. “You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.”

- Michael Jordan.

78. “A team will always appreciate a great individual if he's willing to sacrifice for the group.”

- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

79. “I'm not comfortable being preachy, but more people need to start spending as much time in the library as they do on the basketball court.”

- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

80. “I try to do the right thing at the right time. They may just be little things, but usually, they make the difference between winning and losing.”

- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Check out some of the most amazingly funny NBA quotes by legendary basketball players to set you on fire and motivate you to start playing this incredible game.

81. “Five guys on the court working together can achieve more than five talented individuals who come and go as individuals.”

- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

82. “Basketball isn’t just a sport. It is an art, one that must be mastered to succeed.”

- Stephen Curry.

83. “Be the best version of yourself in anything you do. You don’t have to live anybody else’s story.”

- Stephen Curry.

84. “I want to practice to the point where it’s almost uncomfortable how fast you shoot so that in the game things kind of slow down.”

- Stephen Curry.

85. “My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength.”

- Michael Jordan.

86. “You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.”

- Michael Jordan.

87. “Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation.”

- Michael Jordan.

88. “Winning takes precedence overall. There’s no gray area. No almost.”

- Kob Bryant.

89. “Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.”

- Kob Bryant.

90. “A lot of leaders fail because they don’t have the bravery to touch that nerve or strike that chord.”

- Kob Bryant.

91. “There is no 'i' in the team but there is in the win.”

- Michael Jordan.

92. “Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.”

- Michael Jordan.

93. “We’re going to have to work. We’re going to have to play well. Nothing will be given to us.”

- Stephen Curry.

94. “Being a superstar means you’ve reached your potential, and I don’t think I’ve reached my potential as a basketball player and as a leader yet.”

- Stephen Curry.

95. “We have to have the mentality that we have to work for everything we’re going to get.”

- Stephen Curry.

96. “Every time I rise up, I have confidence that I’m going to make it.”

- Stephen Curry.

97. “Everybody has talent, but ability takes hard work.”

- Michael Jordan.

98. “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

- Michael Jordan.

99. “If you do not believe in yourself no one will do it for you.”

- Kob Bryant.

100. “We can always kind of be average and do what’s normal. I am not in this to do what’s normal.”

- Kob Bryant.

101. “I can get better. I haven’t reached my ceiling yet on how well I can shoot the basketball.”

- Stephen Curry.

102. “Success comes after you conquer your biggest obstacles and hurdles.”

- Stephen Curry.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for NBA quotes, then why not take a look at 'Space Jam' quotes, or Charles Barkley quotes.

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