Basketball Quotes

"Basketball, in America, is like a culture. It is like a foreigner learning a new language. It is difficult to learn foreign languages and it will also be difficult for me to learn the culture for basketball here"

Yao Ming, Athlete

"I wanted a NBA basketball gym at my house and that's what I worked hard for and I was able to achieve that"

Terrell Owens, Athlete

"I've always been like that. I was a tomboy when I was a kid, so I was always playing baseball and basketball and football and stuff as a kid with the boys"

Catherine Bell, Model

"I played in Joe Louis in a playoff game. I played there when the roof caved in for half a season. The facility is great for basketball because it goes straight up, so you feel like the fans are on top of you"

Bill Laimbeer, Coach

"My goals have gone from being an all-star to just being able to play basketball. I always took for granted that I could play. Now I know what a gift it is"

Rebecca Lobo, Athlete

"It wasn't until late high school and early college that I gained enough size and skill to make me welcome on intramural basketball teams"

Paul D. Boyer, Scientist

"It's very warm there, so we were outdoors all the time. The local people had programs for us year-round, where as kids we had the opportunity to play football, basketball, baseball, track and field - we just went from one sport to the next, year-round"

Rafer Johnson, Athlete

"Once I grew from 6'1" to about 6'6", by that time I was going into 12th grade, and that's when I started wanting to play basketball, because, pretty much basketball players always got the girl"

Eric Williams, Historian

"When I look at the system here and look at my position - not just as a basketball player, but when I look around me at the values of the people and the culture and compare them with the values of where I came from - I feel so blessed to be from Africa"

Hakeem Olajuwon, Athlete

"Basketball is in my blood. It is my obligation to try"

Hakeem Olajuwon, Athlete

"I played baseball, and that's pretty much it. Basketball came late, this was, basketball was the sport that I tried to master, I kind of mastered baseball, so basketball was one of those things where I wanted to master this game, so that's why I probably play it the way I do"

Eric Williams, Historian

"In the original script, my character was a basketball player rather than a boxer. I didn't think I could pull that off. I'm a little short to be a basketball player!"

Eddie Murphy, Comedian

"Magic Johnson, former basketball player, may run for mayor of LA in the next election. Remember the good 'ol days when only qualified people ran for office like actors and professional wrestlers"

Jay Leno, Comedian

"I played varsity on all of them for four years. I'm 5'9 and that's not that tall for a center so I was a forward. I loved playing volleyball and basketball and track I was good at, but it stressed me out"

Bridgette Wilson, Actress

"You need a teaching coach who understands the game of basketball, not just some guy coming on the court talking about Xs and Os"

Oscar Robertson, Athlete

"If you're a basketball player, you've got to shoot"

Oscar Robertson, Athlete

"I try to never lose sight of what a special time it is to be a women's basketball player"

Sue Wicks, Athlete

"I coach my daughter's softball and basketball team. We go to all the school functions. We go out to eat at night and take the kids to the movies. We try to be as normal as we can"

Tim McGraw, Musician

"I had never picked up a basketball before. I went through a grueling audition process. It was almost as if I was learning to walk. It would be like teaching somebody to dance ballet for a role"

Sanaa Lathan, Actress

"Theaters are great. They're designed to sound good, not for basketball"

Les Claypool, Musician

"The caliber of play suffered and attendance declined year by year. Interest in college football was exploding, and there was this new game called basketball"

John Thorn, Historian

"In 1981, at age 31, I was voted the best player in basketball, and the most valuable player in the league"

Julius Erving, Athlete

"By analogy, if we were to develop a soccer team, then we would not invite basketball and volleyball players to the try outs. We would invite soccer players to apply"

Jean-Marie Le Pen, Politician

"If all I'm remembered for is being a good basketball player, then I've done a bad job with the rest of my life"

Isaiah Thomas, Athlete

"My greatest gift that I have in life is basketball"

Isaiah Thomas, Athlete

"Both of us played basketball, and I played tennis and my knees are done. Now if you ask us head-to-head who wins at golf, I'm asking for a couple of strokes"

Michael Wilbon, Journalist

"I have no desire to coach basketball"

Kevin Johnson, Athlete

"I like basketball, and I've been to three games, which is so much more fun than seeing it on TV, I think"

Heidi Klum, Model

"So you're dealing with a coach, and you're dealing with a guy who's actually experienced NBA basketball from a player's perspective and actually goes about it that way"

Kevin Garnett, Athlete

"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, Inventor

"Football, basketball, and the Olympic sports all have their problems with banned substances"

Jim Sensenbrenner, Politician

"The cast gets along pretty well, it's a good work environment. I hang out a lot with Brett Claywell, he plays Tim Smith on the show. We play plenty of basketball"

James Lafferty, Actor

"As all of us with any involvement in sports knows, no two umpires or no two referees have the same strike zone or call the same kind of a basketball game"

Herb Kohl, Politician

"I am sure that no man can derive more pleasure from money or power than I do from seeing a pair of basketball goals in some out of the way place"

James Naismith, Inventor

"The thing I like about my body is that it's strong. I can move furniture around my apartment. I can ride my horse... I can play basketball. It's a well functioning machine"

Cindy Crawford, Model

"I believe that whatever we have, regardless of a trade being done or not, I feel we have a shot. I've just got to believe that we're going to be all right. I've got to just play basketball"

Allen Iverson, Athlete

"That's what I do now: I lead and I teach. If we win basketball games from doing that, then that's great, but I lead and teach. Those are the two things I concentrate on"

Mike Krzyzewski, Coach

"You don't play against opponents, you play against the game of basketball"

Bobby Knight, Coach

"Walking has been ridiculous in college basketball the past 15 years"

Bobby Knight, Coach

"As I've said, basketball has been, I think, a real cooperative venture. There have been a lot of people that have been involved in it: coaches, administrators - not recently - fans and nobody, nobody any more so than students over the years"

Bobby Knight, Coach

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