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.
LARRY BIRDThe 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.
More Larry Bird Quotes
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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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Don’t let winning make you soft. Don’t let losing make you quit. Don’t let your teammates down in any situation.
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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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I think that takes it all. That’s the greatest thing you could ever achieve in your sport. So, I have been very fortunate to play on great teams, but the gold medal was probably the best.
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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 don’t think that once you get to one level, you can relax. You’ve got to keep pushing.
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When I was young, I never wanted to leave the court until I got things exactly correct. My dream was to become a pro.
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When I go to the line I’m thinking ‘All net.’ When I don’t think that, I’m likely to miss.
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Michael Jordan is God disguised as a basketball player.
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The best basketball announcer is one who allows you to close your eyes.
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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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I’m a firm believer in that you play the way you practice.
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Once you are labeled ‘the best’ you want to stay up there, and you can’t do it by loafing around.
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I think you have to work very hard and dedicate yourself and have the respect of your teammates before you’re about to go out and just try to take a game over by yourself.
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The more you win, the better you’re gonna get. It grows on itself.
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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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While day by day the overzealous student stores up facts for future use.
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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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In the closing seconds of every game, I want the ball in my hands for the last shot – not in anybody else’s, not in anybody else’s in the world.
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You can make all the excuses you want, but if you’re not mentally tough and you’re not prepared to play every night, you’re not going to win.
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Coaches can talk and talk and talk about something, but if you get it on tape and show it to them, it is so much more effective.
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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 used to love the feeling of running, of running too far. It made my skin tingle.
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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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It doesn’t matter who scores the points, it’s who can get the ball to the scorer.
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If there was a payment to the bank due, and we needed shoes, she’d get the shoes, and then deal with them guys at the bank. I don’t mean she wouldn’t pay the bank, but the children always came first.
LARRY BIRD