44 Short Basketball Quotes That Capture The Love Of The Game

Basketball is more than just a sport.

It’s about the grind. The teamwork. The feeling when everything clicks.

Anyone who’s played knows what it means.

The early practices.

The losses that teach you.

The way the game pushes you to be better.

These basketball quotes get it. Perfect for motivation or just remembering why you love the game.

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Short Basketball Quotes for Instagram

“Basketball doesn’t build character it reveals it.”

“Basketball is like photography, if you don’t focus, all you have is the negative.” — Dan Frisby

“Basketball is like war in that offensive weapons are developed first, and it always takes a while for the defense to catch up.” — Red Auerbach

“Everything negative—pressure, challenges—is all an opportunity for me to rise.” — Kobe Bryant

“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” — John Wooden

“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

“Success is never final. Failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.” — John Wooden

“You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good.” — Jerry West

“Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” — Kevin Durant

“The only way to prove you are a good sport is to lose.” — Ernie Banks

“You don’t play against opponents; you play against the game of basketball.” — Bobby Knight

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

“Basketball is not just a sport. It’s a lifestyle, a way to be, a way to live.” — Author Unknown

“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” — Michael Jordan

“A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.” — John Wooden

“You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.” — Michael Jordan

“Champions keep playing until they get it right.” — Billie Jean King

“Basketball is a full court game, so every drill must be done full court.” — Bobby Knight

“Basketball is a beautiful game when the five players on the court play with one heartbeat.” — Dean Smith

“Basketball isn’t a game; It’s an art form. You master the fundamentals so you can forget ’em, so you can improvise and just concentrate on what really matters: getting buckets.” — Kyrie Irving

“Basketball is a simple game. Your goal is penetration, get the ball close to the basket, and there are three ways to do that. Pass, dribble and offensive rebound.” — Phil Jackson

“Basketball is the second most exciting indoor sport, and the other one shouldn’t have spectators.” — Dick Vertlieb

“A basketball team is like the five fingers on your hand. If you can get them all together, you have a fist. That’s how I want you to play.” — Mike Krzyzewski

“Basketball is a game that gives you every chance to be great, and puts every pressure on you to prove that you haven’t got what it takes. It never takes away the chance, and it never eases up on the pressure.” — Bob Sundvold

“Basketball, more than any other sport, is a team game about the thousands of small, unselfish acts, the sacrifices on the part of the players that result in team building.” — Dean Smith

“The game of basketball is a game of accepting failure; of accepting imperfection; of realizing that the perfect game has never been played, never will be played, or ever could be played.” — Tony Alfonso

“Basketball doesn’t care what color your skin is. It doesn’t care what language you speak or what religion you practice. It doesn’t care if you’re big or small, fast or slow. It just asks you to play, to compete, to lose with dignity, to win with humility.” — Jim Calhoun

“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

“I just love the game of basketball so much. The game! I don’t need the 18,000 people screaming and all the peripheral things. To me, the most enjoyable part is the practice and preparation.” — Bob Knight

“Good basketball always starts with good defense!” — Bob Knight

“Basketball is a team game. But that doesn’t mean all five players should take the same amount of shots.” — Dean Smith

“A key basketball skill is imagery. The best players see situations before they happen so they can be prepared.” — Dr. Jack Ramsay

“Basketball is a sport that involves the subtle interweaving of players at full speed to the point where they are thinking and moving as one.” — Phil Jackson

“Basketball is not an equal opportunity game. If you can’t shoot it well, you don’t get to shoot.” — Bob Donewald

“Basketball is a game of sacrificing yourself for the next guy, being a team that takes good shots, and taking the right shots.” — David Blatt

“The fundamentals of the game are the same wherever you go: pass, dribble, shoot, defend, rebound, screen, play hard and together.” — Terry Stotts

“In basketball, the mental is to the physical as four is to one.” — Bob Knight

“The most important thing in basketball: BE A TEAM.” — Author Unknown

“Basketball is not played simply with X’s and O’s. It’s played with both trust and confidence.” — Isiah Thomas

“Basketball, a game which won’t be fit for people until they set the basket umbilicus-high and return the giraffes to the zoo.” — Ogden Nash

“Basketball is the MTV of sports.” — Sara Levinson

“Basketball can serve as a kind of metaphor for ultimate cooperation. It is a sport where success, as symbolized by the championship, requires that the dictates of community prevail over selfish impulses.” — Bill Bradley

“If you’re playing basketball with someone who’s better than you, you have to get better or else it’s no fun.” — Jason Behr

“The two ingredients in success in basketball are playing hard and playing intelligently.” — Pete Carill