Basketball Leadership Quotes

• Winning takes talent; to repeat takes character.

  John Wooden

  Basketball, Motivational Sports, Character

  "The Wizard's wisdom: 'Woodenisms'", www.espn.com. June 4, 2010.

  91 Copy quote

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  Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.

  Michael Jordan

  Inspirational, Life, Motivational

  313 Copy quote

• Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

  John Wooden

  Inspirational, Life, Motivational

  "This Speech Was Given Before The #4Women4AllWomen Run" by Powdered Feet, womensrunning.competitor.com. January 25, 2017.

  316 Copy quote

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• Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.

  John Wooden

  Inspirational, Life, Change

  John Wooden (2013). “Quotes from Coach John Wooden: Winning with Principle”, p.102, B&H Publishing Group

  75 Copy quote

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• There are only two options regarding commitment; you’re either in or you’re out.

  Pat Riley

  Inspirational, Basketball, Sports

  112 Copy quote

• The best teams have chemistry. They communicate with each other and they sacrifice personal glory for a common goal.

  Dave DeBusschere

  Motivational, Basketball, Team

  56 Copy quote

• It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.

  John Wooden

  Motivational, Inspiring, Graduation

  John Wooden (2013). “Quotes from Coach John Wooden: Winning with Principle”, p.160, B&H Publishing Group

  101 Copy quote

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• A player who makes a team great is better than a great player.

  John Wooden

  Basketball, Sports, Teamwork

  21 Copy quote
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  I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying.

  Michael Jordan

  Inspirational, Motivational, Change

  "I Can't Accept Not Trying : Michael Jordan on the Pursuit of Excellence". Book by Michael Jordan (p. 129), 1994.

  242 Copy quote

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• When a leader takes responsibility for his own actions and mistakes, he not only sets a good example, he shows a healthy respect for people on his team

  Mike Krzyzewski

  Volleyball, Team, Mistake

  7 Copy quote

• Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.

  Vince Lombardi

  Inspirational, Motivational, Success

  "Full Text of Governor Ikpeazu’s Inaugural Speech". dailypost.ng. May 30, 2015.

  162 Copy quote

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• A leader has to be positive about all things that happen to his team. Look at nothing in the past as failure.

  Mike Krzyzewski

  Team, Past, Leader

  8 Copy quote

• Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.

  Vince Lombardi

  Inspirational, Motivational, Leadership

  Vince Lombardi, Balance Design (1998). “Motivation Lombardi Style”

  23 Copy quote

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• 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

  Inspirational, Life, Motivational

  468 Copy quote

• During critical periods, a leader is not allowed to feel sorry for himself, to be down, to be angry, or to be weak. Leaders must beat back these emotions

  Mike Krzyzewski

  Volleyball, Sorry, Leader

  12 Copy quote
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  If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it.

  Michael Jordan

  Motivational, Basketball, Running

  Michael Jordan (1994). “I can't accept not trying: Michael Jordan on the pursuit of excellence”

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  Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

  John Wooden

  Inspirational, Success, Basketball

  John Wooden, Jack Tobin, Bill Walton (2004). “They Call Me Coach”, McGraw Hill Professional

  1799 Copy quote

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  A leader's job is to develop committed followers. Bad leaders destroy their followers' sense of commitment.

  Dean Smith

  Basketball, Jobs, Commitment

  Dean Smith, Gerald D. Bell, John Kilgo (2004). “The Carolina Way: Leadership Lessons from a Life in Coaching”, p.33, Penguin

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• People want to be on a team. They want to be part of something bigger than themselves. They want to be in a situation where they feel that they are doing something for the greater good.

  Mike Krzyzewski

  Basketball, Volleyball, Team

  21 Copy quote
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  Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.

  John Wooden

  Inspirational, Motivational, Positive

  "The Wizard's wisdom: 'Woodenisms'", www.espn.com. June 4, 2010.

  85 Copy quote

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• One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.

  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

  Basketball, Teamwork, Sports

  Twitter post from Mar 27, 2013

  90 Copy quote

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• The most important thing in coaching is communication. It's not what you say as much as what they absorb.

  Red Auerbach

  Leadership, Sports, Communication

  81 Copy quote

• The most important thing in good leadership is truly caring.

  Dean Smith

  Basketball, Caring, Important

  Dean Smith, Gerald D. Bell, John Kilgo (2004). “The Carolina Way: Leadership Lessons from a Life in Coaching”, p.3, Penguin

  21 Copy quote

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• If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

  Michael Jordan

  Inspirational, Basketball, Wisdom

  Michael Jordan (1994). “I can't accept not trying: Michael Jordan on the pursuit of excellence”

  43 Copy quote

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• I don't look at myself as a basketball coach. I look at myself as a leader who happens to coach basketball.

  Mike Krzyzewski

  Inspirational, Basketball, Volleyball

  15 Copy quote