If you really have integrity, there are very few people who can insult you, or honor you.
BILL RUSSELLTo 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.
More Bill Russell Quotes
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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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Durability is part of what makes a great athlete.
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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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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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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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Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory.
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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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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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Commitment separates those who live their dreams from those who live their lives regretting the opportunities they have squandered.
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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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You can do anything you want to do if you want it bad enough.
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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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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.
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The only important statistic is the final score.
BILL RUSSELL