If you were looking for some sports motivation we compiled “23 Inspirational Michael Jordan Quotes” to end your search. Jordan is arguably the best player to play the game of basketball to some fans. The former Chicago Bulls small forward/shooting guard amassed six NBA Championships and is a symbol of inspiration for many.
Players like Dwayne Wade, Lebron James and Kobe Bryant all cite Jordan as one of the best to every play the game, if not the best. Jordan was always a hard worker on the court and the success he had in the NBA was proof of that. So if you want to hear what Jordan had to say during and after his career, check out the 23 Inspirational Michael Jordan Quotes below.
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.”
“There are plenty of teams in every sport that have great players and never win titles. Most of the time, those players aren’t willing to sacrifice for the greater good of the team. The funny thing is, in the end, their unwillingness to sacrifice only makes individual goals more difficult to achieve. One thing I believe to the fullest is that if you think and achieve as a team, the individual accolades will take care of themselves. Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”
“Be true to the game, because the game will be true to you. If you try to shortcut the game, then the game will shortcut you. If you put forth the effort, good things will be bestowed upon you. That’s truly about the game, and in some ways that’s about life too.”
“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, and others make it happen.”
“I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. I don’t do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results.”
“When I lose the sense of motivation and the sense to prove something as a basketball player, it’s time for me to move away from the game.”
“My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength.”
“I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot . . . when you think about the consequences you always think of a negative result.”
“You have competition every day because you set such high standards for yourself that you have to go out every day and live up to that.”
“To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish. Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don’t isolate.”
“I play to win, whether during practice or a real game. And I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win.”
“I hope the millions of people I’ve touched have the optimism and desire to share their goals and hard work and persevere with a positive attitude.”
“Don’t let them drag you down by rumors just go with what you believe in.”
“It’s heavy duty to try to do everything and please everybody . . . My job was to go out there and play the game of basketball as best I can, … People may not agree with that . . . I can’t live with what everyone’s impression of what I should or what I shouldn’t do.”
“There is no such thing as a perfect basketball player, and I don’t believe there is only one greatest player either.”
“If you do the work you get rewarded. There are no shortcuts in life.”
“The game is my wife. It demands loyalty and responsibility, and it gives me back fulfillment and peace.”
“People ask me if I could fly, I said, ‘yeah…. for a little while.'”
“When I was young, I had to learn the fundamentals of basketball. You can have all the physical ability in the world, but you still have to know the fundamentals.”
“The minute you get away from fundamentals – whether its proper technique, work ethic or mental preparation – the bottom can fall out of your game, your schoolwork, your job, whatever you’re doing.”
“But my drive to win is so great … I just step over that line. … It’s very embarrassing, … one of the things you totally regret. So you look at yourself in the mirror and say, ‘I was stupid.'”
“When I was playing before I retired, I never really understood the appreciation and the respect that people gave me. People had treated me like a god or something, and that was very embarrassing.”