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.
BILL RUSSELLThe only important statistic is the final score.
More Bill Russell Quotes
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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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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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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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My most prized possession was my library card from the Oakland Public Library.
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We overreached our decision power. Sometimes our decisions have to fit the reality of the outside world.
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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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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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Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory.
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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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Friendship is a full-time job.
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Remember that basketball is a game of habits. If you make the other guy deviate from his habits, you’ve got him.
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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.
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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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Most people have a harder time letting themselves love than finding someone to love them.
BILL RUSSELL