Skip to main content

Motivation Quote by Karl Malone

"I think we're a deeper team, a better team, we still have work to do... nothing is guaranteed, but hopefully we got the mentality to play on the road, and we're starting to get our home thing back in order now-if we can do that we'll be just fine"

About this Quote

Malone’s sentence is the sound of a veteran trying to steer a locker room away from its own hype. The first move is strategic: “deeper” and “better” are big claims, but he immediately cages them with “we still have work to do.” That’s not humility for its own sake; it’s a way to keep standards high without inviting complacency or the bulletin-board backlash that comes from acting like the season is already decided.

The real tell is where he puts the pressure: not on talent, but on “mentality,” especially “on the road.” That’s athlete code for maturity under hostile conditions: bad whistles, ugly shooting nights, momentum swings, fatigue. He’s naming the part of playoff basketball that doesn’t show up in box scores, the stretch where teams either get organized or get petty. Malone is selling resilience as a skill, not a vibe.

Then comes the quietly revealing phrase: “starting to get our home thing back in order.” Home-court advantage is supposed to be automatic; if you have to describe it as a “thing,” it’s been slipping. The subtext is a team that’s been inconsistent, maybe too comfortable, maybe rattled by expectations, and he’s reframing that instability as a fixable habit.

“Nothing is guaranteed” is both truth and armor. It lowers the temperature around championship talk while still promising control: if they travel well and protect home, “we’ll be just fine.” It’s leadership by calibration - confident enough to reassure, cautious enough to keep everyone hungry.

Quote Details

TopicTeamwork
SourceHelp us find the source
Cite

Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Malone, Karl. (2026, January 17). I think we're a deeper team, a better team, we still have work to do... nothing is guaranteed, but hopefully we got the mentality to play on the road, and we're starting to get our home thing back in order now-if we can do that we'll be just fine. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-think-were-a-deeper-team-a-better-team-we-still-80860/

Chicago Style
Malone, Karl. "I think we're a deeper team, a better team, we still have work to do... nothing is guaranteed, but hopefully we got the mentality to play on the road, and we're starting to get our home thing back in order now-if we can do that we'll be just fine." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-think-were-a-deeper-team-a-better-team-we-still-80860/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I think we're a deeper team, a better team, we still have work to do... nothing is guaranteed, but hopefully we got the mentality to play on the road, and we're starting to get our home thing back in order now-if we can do that we'll be just fine." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-think-were-a-deeper-team-a-better-team-we-still-80860/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

More Quotes by Karl Add to List
Deeper Team, Better Team: Karl Malone on Building Winning Mentality
Click to enlarge Portrait | Landscape

About the Author

USA Flag

Karl Malone (born July 24, 1963) is a Athlete from USA.

30 more quotes available

View Profile

Similar Quotes