NBA Quotes – Moments of Inspiration from Basketball’s Greatest Players

Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard. – Kevin Durant

I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying. – Michael Jordan

Don’t be afraid of failure. This is the way to succeed. – LeBron James

The only way to succeed is to work harder than you did yesterday. – Kobe Bryant

You can’t win unless you learn how to lose. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I play to win, whether during practice or a real game. – Magic Johnson

Greatness is not something that is given, it is earned. – Larry Bird

I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. – Michael Jordan

The only limit is your mind. – Shaquille O’Neal

Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do. – Peja Stojaković

When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you’ll be successful. – Eric Thomas

You have to be able to accept failure to get better. – Chris Paul

The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning. – Scottie Pippen

I don’t believe in pressure. I believe in work. – Kawhi Leonard

I can’t relate to lazy people. We don’t speak the same language. I don’t understand you. I don’t want to understand you. – Kobe Bryant

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going. – LeBron James

Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again. – Nelson Mandela

I’m not afraid of dying, I just don’t want to be there when it happens. – Steve Nash

The key to success is to focus on goals, not obstacles. – Chris Bosh

I’m not a role model… Just because I dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids. – Charles Barkley

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

I don’t think that there’s a LeBron James gene, but I do think smarter parents raise better basketball players. – Mike Krzyzewski

I never wanted to be liked by the NBA. I wanted to be hated because that’s when I knew I was doing something right. – Dennis Rodman

I look at every day as a new opportunity. I’ve always said that. – Damian Lillard

I want people to think of me as someone who never followed the crowd. – Dwyane Wade

You can’t be afraid to fail. It’s the only way you succeed. – LeBron James

I don’t work towards being the best in the world. I work towards being the best that I can be. – Dirk Nowitzki

The game is my wife. It demands loyalty and responsibility, and it gives me back fulfillment and peace. – Michael Jordan

I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. – LeBron James

I play basketball to win championships. That’s it. – Kawhi Leonard

Limits, like fear, are often just an illusion. – Michael Jordan

I love the fast pace and physicality of the game. – Russell Westbrook

I don’t believe in regrets. I believe every decision I make is the right one at that moment. – Paul George

The game has its ups and downs, but you can never lose focus of your individual goals and you can’t let yourself be beat because of lack of effort. – Michael Jordan

I hate losing more than I love winning. – Larry Bird

The only thing I fear is waking up one day and realizing I could have done more. – LeBron James

The secret is to have eight great players and four others who will cheer like crazy. – Jerry Sloan

There is only one way to succeed in anything and that is to give it everything. – Dwight Howard

I hate letting my teammates down. I know I’m not going to make every shot. Sometimes I try to make the right play, and if it results in a loss, I feel awful. – Dirk Nowitzki

I’ve got a theory that if you give 100% all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end. – Larry Bird

I’m never satisfied. I always push myself to be better. – Kevin Durant

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. – Wayne Gretzky

Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best. – Tim Duncan

I’m a competitor. I don’t have hobbies. – Michael Jordan

Don’t let others dictate your success or failure. It’s up to you. – Shaquille O’Neal

I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. – Kobe Bryant

I hate every minute of training. But I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion’. – Muhammad Ali

Success is not a magic trick, it’s the result of hard work and dedication. – Stephen Curry

I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying. – Vince Lombardi

You have to believe in yourself when no one else does. – Serena Williams