Throughout the world, basketball is a popular sport. James Naismith, a Canadian American physical educator, invented the game in 1891. During winter and rainy days, Naismith wanted to keep his students active by creating a new game. The idea of shooting hoops came to him since his class would quickly get bored.
In the early days of basketball, the players used a peach basket with a bottom instead of a basketball net, and the balls had to be manually retrieved after each point. With millions of fans to support them, basketball players never cease to demonstrate their skills and commitment to their sport. Their feats are constant proof of what the human body is capable of and they often inspire their fans to strive harder and achieve their dreams.
Motivational Basketball Quotes
Since basketball is such a great source of motivation, we have gathered a collection of basketball quotes from your favorite coaches and players.
“Whenever a player isn’t going full speed or playing selfish basketball, you should sub them out”
“Recognize a mistake, admit it, learn from it, and forget it”
“My words always reflect what I mean, but my actions never reflect what I think”
“Puts off recruiting players who yell at their teammates, disrespect their high school coaches, or score 33 points per game, and their teams go 10-10.
“It is hard, if not impossible, to establish teamwork when one player has a selfish attitude”
“There is a lot of basketball beyond our control, but a player should never let anyone try harder than he does”
“Basketball is a beautiful game. You will have problems when all five players play with one heartbeat, a life, and a death proposition. For one thing, you’ll be dead a lot.”
“Basketball is a team sport. However, that doesn’t mean that all five players should take the same number of shots.
“Players with selfish attitudes can poison the locker room and prevent teamwork”
“Coaching too much is the worst thing you can do to a player”
“Praise only the behavior you want to be repeated. False praise should never be used” “Celebrate behavior you want repeated”
There will be times when you will hate me because I will tell you the truth about your game. You can be hurt/humbled by the truth.”
Because ‘random’ picks can’t be scouted, encourage ‘random’ picks on the ball.
“I’m looking for activities. Based on effort and defense, I put players in and take them out.
“Would you rather win than stand out?” Every championship team player has to decide.”
Defending doesn’t happen if you don’t talk.
“Good players want to be coached… Great players want the truth told to them.”
“Is it possible to be competitive without losing your discipline?”
“You can pick captains, but not leaders. A team is controlled by its locker room”
“Quickness is created by positioning, anticipation, and technique. Therefore, you can always get faster”
“Players are more important than plays, and players are more important than teammates”
“Peace does not exist in the absence of trials, troubles, or torments, but in the presence of calm amid them”
“Do something good for someone else to show your appreciation”
“The best recruits are sometimes the ones you don’t get”
“Reward players who put the team first, not just gifted ones”
It is important to practice shared suffering. Everyone runs if one guy makes a mistake. If one guy does well, everyone benefits”
“Find your gift, develop it, and give it away every day”
“The only thing we can control is how hard we play”
“It costs nothing to be nice”
“It does not matter where you coach, but why”
“Let your best player shine… great teams have a go-to player and they play off of him”
“What matters is not what you teach, but what you emphasize”
“Make sure your program has a clear purpose and teaches lessons beyond winning”
“Celebrate and criticize”
“It is possible to be disciplined and demanding without being demeaning”
“Be a student of the game when you watch it”
“There are some parents who would rather their son get all-state than his team win the state championship”
“Practice like a game, and play like a practice”
“Nothing compares to watching your children play for a coach”
“At the end of the day, what your troops do matters more than who they are marching against”
“You cannot expect a young man to follow your advice and ignore your example”
“Late players show that they value their time more than the team”
“Make the game as simple as possible. “Addition requires subtraction”
“A successful program depends on people working hard, working together, and never worrying about who gets the credit”
“Whenever you win an award as a coach, you’ve got to be a fool to think it wasn’t your assistant coaches and your players who earned the award”
“Even the worst day coaching is better than the best day doing anything else”
Running effective practices is the most important aspect of coaching” – Bob Knight
‘Will to win’ is not the key… everyone has it. It is the will to prepare to win that is important”
It’s not about playing against opponents, it’s about playing against the game of basketball”
“Practice should be more challenging physically and mentally than games”
“Basketball is a full court game, so every drill must be done full court”
My practice plans are always designed the night before, and then tweaked a few hours before practice.”
“I dislike casual shooting. Every shot is preceded by working to get open and catch and shoot under game like conditions”
In a close game, what should you do? Put pressure on the defense by driving to the basket! Don’t jack up your jump shots”
When it comes to man-to-man combat, passing is your best weapon. The best weapon against zones is dribble penetration”
Players must be able to follow simple instructions from the bench to the court. “They can’t play if they can’t”
“Discipline is doing what you have to do, when you have to do it, and doing it well all the time”
Basketball is one of my favorite games. It’s game time! I don’t need 18,000 people screaming and all the peripherals. “Practice and preparation are the most enjoyable parts for me.”
“The mental is to the physical as four is to one”
“Offense is not an equal opportunity”
“Make your players think”
The shot fake is not used very often, and I wonder why. When used correctly, the shot fake can eliminate defenders”
“Coaches shouldn’t be pushing you to work hard, you should be pushing yourself because you want to be a great player”
“Players can improve quickly by thinking about what they dislike playing against”
The key to good basketball is good defense!”
“Practices were not designed to be easy or enjoyable”
“Working for positive results is more important than hoping for them”
The purpose of defense is to help. You have to show kids how to help and then how to help the helper to guard a good dribbler.
