You got to have the killer instinct. If you do not have it, forget about basketball and go into social psychology or something. If you sometimes wonder if you’ve got it, you ain’t got it. No pussycats, please.
BILL RUSSELLPeople say it was the greatest individual rivalry they’ve ever seen. I agree with that. Let me assure you that if either Wilt’s or Russ’ coach had ever told one of them he couldn’t guard the other guy, he would have lost that player forever.
More Bill Russell Quotes
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Heart in champions has to do with the depth of our motivation and how well your mind and body react to pressure – that is, being able to do what you do best under maximum pain and stress.
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The only important statistic is the final score.
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Most people have a harder time letting themselves love than finding someone to love them.
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The morale and the camaraderie that we had for one another earlier in the year is starting to come under duress because of all the losses. Some of the guys are feeling the pressure now from the last year when they were not successful.
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Friendship is a full-time job.
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We couldn’t sustain it. And they got a lot of kids that can shoot. We just couldn’t close out well enough.
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The most important thing to me is the friends that I’ve made.
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What distinguishes a great player is his presence. When he goes on to the court, his presence dominates the atmosphere.
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I think that David Stern is probably the greatest commissioner that any sport has ever had in the history of this country.
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We learn to make a shell for ourselves when we are young and then spend the rest of our lives hoping for someone to reach inside and touch us. Just touch us-anything more than that would be too much for us to bear.
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To love someone is nothing, to be loved by someone is something, to love someone who loves you is everything.
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What’s more important than who’s going to be the first black manager is who’s going to be the first black sports editor of the New York Times.
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Don’t knock the ball in the stands, keep it in your hands!
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The last five or six days, I’ve been running. The last two days, I’ve been running pretty hard. Everybody’s got to be someplace.
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Create unselfishness as the most important team attribute.
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