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 RUSSELLThe idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot.
More Bill Russell Quotes
-
-
On females officiating in the NBA -Incompetence should not be confined to one sex.
BILL RUSSELL -
Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory.
BILL RUSSELL -
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.
BILL RUSSELL -
The most important thing to me is the friends that I’ve made.
BILL RUSSELL -
The magic to a great meeting is all of the work that’s done beforehand.
BILL RUSSELL -
What distinguishes a great player is his presence. When he goes on to the court, his presence dominates the atmosphere.
BILL RUSSELL -
Remember that basketball is a game of habits. If you make the other guy deviate from his habits, you’ve got him.
BILL RUSSELL -
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.
BILL RUSSELL -
Durability is part of what makes a great athlete.
BILL RUSSELL -
Learning is a daily experience and a lifetime mission. I truly believe in the saying “We work to become, not to acquire.”
BILL RUSSELL -
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.
BILL RUSSELL -
If you can take something to levels that very few other people can reach, then what you’re doing becomes art.
BILL RUSSELL -
Success is a result of consistent practice of winning skills and actions. There is nothing miraculous about the process. There is no luck involved.
BILL RUSSELL -
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.
BILL RUSSELL -
You can do anything you want to do if you want it bad enough.
BILL RUSSELL