Basketball is a game that requires both mental and physical toughness. This is especially true on game day, when you will need to be in the proper mindset to ensure that you are mentally prepared for the challenges ahead and the challenges you may face on the court.
To help you mentally prepare for the upcoming game, we’ve compiled a list of the 24 best basketball quotes for game day. This list of quotes from basketball greats and legends will help you prepare mentally and provide you with the strength and fortitude to go out there and give it your all.
You may also find our list of the best basketball leadership quotes helpful!
- Never let anyone outwork you. Never let anyone want it more than you.
- I would tell players to relax and never think about what’s at stake. Just think about the basketball game. If you start to think about who is going to win the championship you’ve lost your focus. – Michael Jordan
- Champions don’t show up to get everything they want’ they show up to give everything they have.
- Everything negative – pressure, challenges – are all an opportunity for me to rise. – Kobe Bryant
- All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you’re not good enough, or strong enough, or talented enough. They will say you’re the wrong height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. They will tell you no. A thousand times no. Until all the no’s become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no. Quite firmly and very quickly. And you will tell them yes. – Nike
- The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot. – Bill Russell
- Bottom line: You’re the only one who knows – in your heart of hearts – if you are really giving it all you have. You are the only. One who knows what you’re capable of – and the only one who can evaluate your effort relative to your own standard. – Andy Frisella
- 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
- When it comes down to game day and you see the pass coming, don’t freeze up. After all the hours you’ve put in, your body knows the routine, now it’s just up to your head to break and step into it and release. – Alex Schoener
- I’ve always believed that if you put in thee work, the results will come. I don’t do things half-heartedly because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results. – Michael Jordan
- Never say never because limits, like fears, are often just illusions. – Michael Jordan
- Success is not an accident; success is actually a choice. – Stephen Curry
- The moment you give up is the moment you let someone else win. – Kobe Bryant
- I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win. – Michael Jordan
- One day we will no longer be playing this game. One day we will hang up the medals, trophies, and jerseys. We will no longer wake. up early to practice or play this game. When we take our place to play one last time, but we never know when that time will be. So, play this game today, work hard today, because you may not be playing tomorrow.
- Every day for the rest of your life, you’ll have to choose, do you want to fit in, or do you want to embark on the lonely pursuit of greatness? – Ray Allen
- Nervous means you want to play. Scared means you don’t want to play. – Sherman Alexie
- Everyone has the fire, but the champions know when to ignite the spark. – Amit Ray
- Your limits are somewhere up there, waiting for you to reach beyond infinity. – Arnold Henry
- Good thing in this business is that you just have to make one big shot and that’s enough to make you forget 9 other shots that you missed. – Guy Zucker
- Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates. – Magic Johnson
- Great players are willing to give up their own personal achievement for the achievement of the group. It enhances everybody. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- When I lose the sense of motivation and the sense to prove something as a basketball player, it’s time for me to move away from the game. – Michael Jordan
- Push yourself again and again. Don’t give an inch until the final buzzer sounds. – Larry Bird
- Discover your gift, develop your gift, and then give it away every day. – Don Meyer