Once you are labeled ‘the best’ you want to stay up there, and you can’t do it by loafing around.
LARRY BIRDGuys 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.
More Larry Bird Quotes
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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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I’ve got a theory that if you give 100% all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end.
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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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I mean, the greatest athletes in the world are African-American.
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I don’t know if I practiced more than anybody, but I sure practiced enough. I still wonder if somebody – somewhere – was practicing more than me.
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Maybe it’s God disguised as Michael Jordan.
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The best basketball announcer is one who allows you to close your eyes.
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It’s been a journey, the NBA. It’s taken me a lot farther than I ever expected.
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I don’t think that once you get to one level, you can relax. You’ve got to keep pushing.
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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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The best player I ever played with was Dennis Johnson.
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A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.
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I think a lot of blue collar people related to me because a lot of people work for their money.
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I learned what my weaknesses were and I went out the next day to turn those weaknesses intro strengths.
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He who has learned to trust nature finds need for ever fewer external directions. He will discard formula after formula, until he reaches the conclusion: Let nature take its course.
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I didn’t play against the toughest competition in high school, but one reason I was able to do well in college was that I mastered the fundamentals.
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My 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.
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Players will see right through a phony. And they can tell when you’re not giving it all you’ve got.
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I’m a firm believer in that you play the way you practice.
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Who in their right mind wouldn’t listen to what Larry Bird tells them? He knows what it takes to be a successful player, and he’s letting us do the things to have the success.
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I have always been confident in my skills and once the game got going I knew I was probably the best player on the floor most of the time whether it was junior high, high school or college. I knew I had control of the game.
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Eminem. My son was listening to that and I was like, “What is that junk?” Then I started listening and I thought, You know, that kid is pretty good. It’s the storytelling.
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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 like being by myself.
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I think it’s good for a fan base because as we all know the majority of the fans are white America. And if you just had a couple of white guys in there, you might get them a little excited.
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I knew I was as good as anybody. That’s not really bragging; it’s just that I’d put the time in.
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