"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"
About this Quote
The most pointed detail isn’t the gym. It’s “especially when your friends are going out.” Kidd puts social life on the bargaining table, because that’s the temptation most listeners recognize. He’s translating NBA ambition into a choice you can picture on a random weekend: nightlife versus fluorescent lights. That specificity gives the quote its authority. It’s not abstract “discipline,” it’s missing the fun on purpose, over and over, until missing it becomes normal.
“Those are the sacrifices that you have to make” carries a double edge. On one hand, it’s permission to opt out of the party without apology. On the other, it normalizes a culture where the job is totalizing, where worth gets measured by how much of yourself you’re willing to surrender. Coming from Kidd, whose era bridged old-school grind and today’s hyper-optimized training economy, it doubles as career advice and an implicit warning: the NBA isn’t a dream you want; it’s a lifestyle you accept.
Quote Details
| Topic | Training & Practice |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Kidd, Jason. (2026, January 16). 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. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/a-lot-of-late-nights-in-the-gym-a-lot-of-early-99113/
Chicago Style
Kidd, Jason. "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." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/a-lot-of-late-nights-in-the-gym-a-lot-of-early-99113/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"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." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/a-lot-of-late-nights-in-the-gym-a-lot-of-early-99113/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
