50 NBA Quotes Exploring The Love Of Basketball

By Clifton Sankofa

School Leader, Language Arts Expert & Master Quote Curator

Published January 4, 2023

Are you looking for NBA quotes?

Do you love NBA action?

We have it all. Check out these NBA quotes about life, love, friendship, and inspiration.

The NBA is one of the world’s most prolific professional sports leagues.

The league has grown to influence athletes from every continent of the world.

Today, the most talented basketball players on planet earth play in the NBA.

The competition reaches new levels every season as new champions are born.

The NBA has a strong history of diversity and willingness to go against the grain.

The NBA has built a complicated but storied legacy.

For example, players such as Kyrie Irving, Lebron James, and Kevin Durant have discussed being targeted with racial slurs while playing in Boston.

At the same time, Boston was the first team in the NBA to have an all-African-American starting five and the first team to have an African American head coach.

NBA quotes about life

1. “That’s part of the NBA. It’s a lot of ups and downs.” — Rajon Rondo

2. “It’s tough at first. You realize in the NBA; it’s not easy.” — Devin Booker

3. “Everybody in the NBA is good. And then you have the really good ones and the great ones.” — Kyrie Irving

4. “Life in the NBA can be one big constant distraction, especially when you’re on the road.” — C. J. McCollum

5. “I always wanted to be an NBA player, and despite what anybody said, I was going to get to that point.” — Roy Hibbert

6. “A lot of guys go into the NBA not being able to shoot the ball well, but then they become great shooters.” — Ben Simmons

7. “In college, everything’s structured. In the NBA, it’s like, you have a lot of free time, and you have to use it wisely.” — Trey Burke

8. “I learned this lesson very quickly when I came into the NBA: Almost all the media and accolades go to the No. 1 guy.” — B. J. Armstrong

9. “I’ve been a bit surprised and encouraged by the NBA’s support for athletes that speak out. Compared to the NFL, it’s night and day.” — Malcolm Brogdon

10. “I wanted to go the NBA and win a championship because I’ve never seen a grown man cry the way Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan cried when they won a championship.” — Iman Shumpert

Funny NBA quotes

11. “He’s a skilled player. He’s like a unicorn.” — Kevin Durant

12.“People feel like our team complains a lot.” — Austin Rivers

13. “Friends can come and go, but banners hang forever.” — Kobe Bryant

14. “It means I’m going in the right direction as a player.” — Kawhi Leonard

15. “It would be hard for me not to improve your team.” — Make-A-Wish kid

16. “I can probably go down in history as the best backup point guard ever in NBA history.” – Baron Davis

17. “Any other incisive, deep questions that make my mind go vertiginous? None of you even know what the means.” — Gregg Popovich

18. “The NBA believes if you play for a team and get paid by a team, you’re the property of that team for 24 hours a day.” — Dennis Rodman

19. “I remember I’d be sleeping in the airport at 5 o’clock in the morning, traveling three hours, and playing a game that day. We never even chartered until my third year in the NBA.” — Charles Barkley

20. “Did we play last night? Then I don’t watch other teams play. I’ve got other things to do in my life. I’ve got a wife. I like to shop. I got fashion. I got other things to do other than watch other teams play.” — Russell Westbrook

NBA quotes from Kobe Bryant and Steph Curry

21. “After all, greatness is not for everybody.” — Kobe Bryant

22. “Success is not an accident. Success is actually a choice.” — Steph Curry

23. “With the NBA’s dress code, I had to revamp my wardrobe a little bit.” — Stephen Curry

24. “Basketball isn’t just a sport. It is an art, one that must be mastered to succeed.” — Steph Curry

25. “So, I’m not, I’m not sad about [retiring]. I’m very appreciative of what I’ve had.” — Kobe Bryant

26. “Even though I played in the NBA, we tried to give our kids as normal a life as possible.” — Dell Curry

27. “The most important thing is you must put everybody on notice that you’re here and you are for real.” — Kobe Bryant

28. “I see the beauty in getting up in the morning and being in pain because I know all the hard work that it took to get to this point.” — Kobe Bryant

29. “Being a superstar means you’ve reached your potential, and I don’t think I’ve reached my potential as a basketball player and as a leader yet.’” — Steph Curry

30. “It’s really annoying for me. That’s not what I’m playing for, to be the face of the NBA or to be this or that or to take LeBron’s throne or whatever.” — Stephen Curry

NBA quotes about friends and love

31. “I think I can bring to the NBA versatility.” — Kyle Kuzma

32. “I remember as a young player I had this dream of playing in the NBA.” — B. J. Armstrong

33. “With that being said, I was able to win at a high percentage when we were betting on NBA games.” — Tim Donaghy

34. “Street basketball is all about shakes and fakes, crossing your defender up. The NBA is more strategic.” — Baron Davis

35. “There’s no nights off in the NBA. That’s what makes it so special. That’s why everyone loves the game.” — Devin Booker

36. “I think I’m the first player in NBA history to average 20 points a game and shoot two free throws per game.” — C. J. McCollum

37. “My good friend Yao Ming was the first big player in the NBA to come from China. He gave himself to the game and was successful.” — Dikembe Mutombo

38. “I always said in my mind I wanted to be an All-Star and show four-year guys in the NBA can be good players as opposed to just one-and-done guys.” — Roy Hibbert

39. “That is what prepared me for coming into the NBA, being undersized, no recognition, not getting anything easy, and I have been fortunate to prosper in this league.” — Udonis Haslem

40. “When the Cleveland Cavaliers lost the 2015 NBA Finals to Golden State, LeBron James sat motionless in the locker room, staring straight ahead, still wearing his game jersey, for 45 minutes after the final buzzer.” — Charles Krauthammer

Inspirational NBA quotes

41. “We couldn’t get enough Jeremy Lin material in the NBA store fast enough. And when we did, it was just gone in minutes.” — David Stern

42. “At the end of the day, everybody knows you want to play at the Division I level. But my main goal since I was little was to get to the NBA.” — Tyler Herro

43. “Mark Jackson played 19, 20 years in the NBA. Shouldn’t even have probably been in the league, and he’s the third-ranked assist guy in the NBA.” — Kenny Smith

44. “The intensity of the Super Bowl is one-of-a-kind. An NBA finals is a best-of-seven. But the Super Bowl one game, winner-take-all. The intensity is off the charts.” — Paul Allen

45. “I was in Charlotte, N.C., when they launched the NBA team there, the Charlotte Hornets. And the first guy to roll into town was Carolina native Michael Jordan.” — Hannah Storm

46. “I can’t think of any NBA team over the last few years that lost three starters. And we replaced them basically with three guys who really haven’t played in this league.” — Isaiah Thomas

47. “It was my dream for a long time to play in the NBA. When I was drafted, it was a challenge for me. I decided to go and see where I was compared to the best players in the world.” – Vlade Divac

48. “As you get more experience out there, as you get more comfortable with the NBA system, the offense, the schemes, you begin to understand where you’re going to get your looks from.” — C. J. McCollum

49. “My dad has kind of been the standard for me. He played 16 years in the league, and since I’ve been in the league, every year that I go through and deal with the scratches, the bumps, and bruises, just the grind that it is to go through one NBA season.” — Stephen Curry

50. “You know how you’re in elementary school, and the teacher goes around the room and, like, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ I said, ‘NBA player.’ And she’s like, ‘Well, OK. Maybe pick a real job.’ But I really believed it. I felt like I was meant to be here.” — Kyle Kuzma

What is your favorite part of the NBA?

Some people love the deep threes, the fast breaks, and the nail-biting fourth-quarter moments.

The NBA is a lightning-fast league.

There is nothing to excite an NBA fan like a powerful slam dunk!

The NBA was born in 1949!

Can you believe that?

In the beginning, they used peach baskets, no net, no backboard, and a ball barely bounced.

Today the NBA has 30 teams from two countries and a developmental league.

Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Lebron James, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant are some of the most electrifying players in the history of the NBA.

They have transcended how the world views basketball and sports.

Despite being told to “shut up and dribble,” the NBA has blazed a trail as a league where players have a voice and can vocally engage their fanbase.