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.
BILL RUSSELLWhat distinguishes a great player is his presence. When he goes on to the court, his presence dominates the atmosphere.
More Bill Russell Quotes
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I think what has happened to our basketball team, we’ve been badly distracted. They’re not reading too many positive things in the paper.
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The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot.
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Learning is a daily experience and a lifetime mission. I truly believe in the saying “We work to become, not to acquire.”
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Durability is part of what makes a great athlete.
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On females officiating in the NBA -Incompetence should not be confined to one sex.
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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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Most people have a harder time letting themselves love than finding someone to love them.
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The most important thing to me is the friends that I’ve made.
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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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Commitment separates those who live their dreams from those who live their lives regretting the opportunities they have squandered.
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If you really have integrity, there are very few people who can insult you, or honor you.
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My most prized possession was my library card from the Oakland Public Library.
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Success is a result of consistent practice of winning skills and actions. There is nothing miraculous about the process. There is no luck involved.
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Create unselfishness as the most important team attribute.
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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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To love someone is nothing, to be loved by someone is something, to love someone who loves you is everything.
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If Shakespeare can compare all of life to a stage, maybe it’s not odd to believe that part of the play can take place on a basketball court.
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People 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.
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If a guy pays you five dollars, you give him seven dollars worth of work.
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The magic to a great meeting is all of the work that’s done beforehand.
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I’ve been fortunate to meet and work with a lot of really smart people. The thing that strikes me most about them is how they continue to explore and learn every day. I have tried to apply that approach in my modest career as well.
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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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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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If you can take something to levels that very few other people can reach, then what you’re doing becomes art.
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You can do anything you want to do if you want it bad enough.
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To me, the most important part of winning is joy. You can win without joy, but winning that’s joyless is like eating in a four-star restaurant when you’re not hungry. Joy is a current of energy in your body, like chlorophyll or sunlight, that fills you up and makes you naturally want to do your best.
BILL RUSSELL