Practice habits were crucial to my development in basketball.
LARRY BIRDMy coach told me, “Larry, no matter how much you work at it, there’s always someone out there who’s working just a little harder – if you take 150 practice shots, he’s taking 200.” And that drove me.
More Larry Bird Quotes
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Strength is not nearly as important as desire. I don’t think you can teach anyone desire. I think it’s a gift. I don’t know why I have it, but I do.
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I used to love the feeling of running, of running too far. It made my skin tingle.
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There are many times when you are better off practicing than playing; but most people just don’t understand that
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Whether it’s a tie game or down by 1 or up by five, it was always the same shot. So I always felt comfortable with the ball in my hands because it was in there a million times before.
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My opinion about basketball, the way I was taught, was when you step on the court, you play to win.
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The nature of competition is such that any number of people invariably have their eyes on the same prize you do. Recognize your assets and employ them to the best of your ability.
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The one thing that always bothered me when I played in the NBA was I really got irritated when they put a white guy on me.
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I really don’t like talking about money. All I can say is that the Good Lord must have wanted me to have it.
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Anytime you’ve got an opportunity to play for your country and win a gold medal,
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I wanted to compete at the highest level again – and that’s the NBA.
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My goal was just to try and be the best player on my high school team, and look where I am now. And that was still my goal as a young kid, just to try and be a little better than my brother was.
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When I was a kid, like 14 or 15, I played with the waiters from the hotel, ’cause that was the best game. And these guys, they’d let me play. And they were black guys.
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First master the fundamentals.
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Leadership is diving for a loose ball, getting the crowd involved, getting other players involved. It’s being able to take it as well as dish it out. That’s the only way you’re going to get respect from the players.
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Guys like Larry Bird — he played so hard, he wants everybody else to play hard. That’s not unreasonable. Any coach would want that and demand that.
LARRY BIRD