Michael Jordan Quotations | Page 3

Once I get the ball, you're at my mercy. There is nothing you can say or do about it. I own the ball.

If I had been playing for money I would have complained a long time ago that I was underpaid.

You believe an eye for an eye until you are put in that situation. If they kill those guys, it really doesn't mean much to me. My father is gone.

I didn't come here to be average.

Be optimistic about everything in life.

If you don't back it up with performance and hard work, talking doesn't mean a thing.

The greatest people that ever lived were also the greatest failures. They just didn’t let those failures affect them like they do most.

If I have something and move forward, it is only my weakness, which I hate and turn into my strength. You are not lost as long as you do not give up!

Basketball isn't just about the bright lights, packed arenas and highlight reels. Basketball is a way of life. Basketball is a relationship between you and the ball, you and your teammates. If you love the game, nobody can take that from you.

Basketball isn't my job.

Ultimately, if you can say that I'm a bad owner and we're winning championships, I can live with that. But if we're not making the playoffs and we're spending and losing money, then I have to look in the mirror and say maybe I'm not taking the necessary steps to doing what it takes to run an organization.

I Own the guy guarding me

Suddenly all is quiet. The other nine players? They're all moving in slow motion! I'm at normal speed! I know where everyone's going even before they know themselves. The basket is huge, maybe six feet across! How can I miss? It's like throwing a rock into a pond.

My fellow Wilmington, North Carolina native Meadowlark Lemon is a true national treasure. I watched him play for the Harlem Globetrotters when I was growing up and his skill with the basketball and dedication to the game were an inspiration not only to me, but to kids all around the world.

Can I still dunk... Are you stupid?

I am privileged to have played basketball.

There will be a player greater than me.

Number 45 doesn't explode like Number 23 used to.

Sometimes I wonder what it will be like to look back on all this. Whether it will seem real.

Even though, physically, I can't do it, the mind says, 'Yeah, I can still do it,' and I still think I can do it better than most in the NBA, … Driven From Within.

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.'

The NBA is the strongest professional sports league in the world. The league and the game is bigger than any one person, Michael Jordan included, and they always will be. I hope that today players, especially our young players, continue to recognize that simple fact. Nothing is more important than the game itself and the fans who support it.

I'm sorry to see it end.

I know what I would do if I were coach. I'd determine our strengths and weaknesses and utilize them. And it's pretty clear what our strength is.

I can remember a game, we were down with about 5 to 10 points, I go off about 25 points, we come back and win the game, we're walking off the floor. Tex (Winter) looks at me and says "There's no "I" in team!" I looked at Tex and say, "There's not, but there's an 'I' in win!

We're not winning because of talent. We're just beating bad teams.

Success doesn't stop when you get there

If you pass the ball to Bill Cartwright, you'll never get the ball from me.

You're an idiot. You've screwed up every play we ever ran. You're too stupid to even remember the plays. We ought to get rid of you.

I hate being out there with those garbage men. They don't get you the ball.

I know the signs of scaredness.

When I worked on my game, that's what I thought about. When it happened, I set another goal, a reasonable, manageable goal that I could realistically achieve if I worked hard enough. I guess I approached it with the end in mind. I knew exactly where I wanted to go, and I focused on getting there.

It's probably a twelve-day. He needs two days to wake up.

I failed so therefore I succeed.

Not every flying hero has a cape.

We had to be to the stadium at six o'clock for home games, and traffic was so bad it would take us an hour and fifteen or an hour and thirty minutes to drive. So now I'm sitting in a car for almost an hour and a half and I'm very tense. I'm worried about the traffic. So I started smoking a cigar going to the games.

All I wanted to do was to improve, to keep getting better.

I took cooking classes when I was younger; girls weren't interested in me, and I thought I may be alone for the rest of my life.

Anyone who would argue that this third-generatio n MDX is an SUV might as well belong to the Flat Earth Society. The 2014 Acura MDX is the perfect expression of the modern car - capable, spacious, and friendly to drive.

My most memorable dunk, that I think about very, very often, is the Patrick Ewing dunk.

I make shoes for white suburban kids, not the poor black kids. That would be like opening a restaurant for people without stomachs.

Republicans buy sneakers, too.

Since I've been in chiropractic, I've improved by leaps and bounds both mentally and physically.

If I have an agenda or a goal, no one is going to deter me from what I want to do.

You have to be able to say, OK, that happened back then. Now let's take it from here and see what happens. It would be very easy to hate people for the rest of your life, and some people have done that. You've got to deal with what's happening now and try to make things better.

I just feel that my competitive drive is far greater than anyone else that I've met, and I think that I thrive on that.

Excellence isn't a one-week or one-year ideal. It's a constant.

My attitude going into training camp as a rookie was to impress. I wanted to impress my teammates, my coaches, the owners, everybody. I wanted them to say, ?This kid is special. This kid has the right mind, the right skills, the right motivation?.

When I got cut from the varsity team as a sophomore in high school, I learned something. I knew I never wanted to feel that bad again. I never wanted to have that taste in my mouth, that hole in my stomach. So I set a goal of becoming a starter on the varsity.

I knew where I wanted to go, what kind of player I wanted to become and I focused on getting there.

It's not about the shoes, it's what you do in them.

A coach is someone that sees beyond your limits and guides you to greatness!

Isn't (life) all about trying?

It's always been said that when I can't find a way to do anything, I will find a way to do it.

I'll quit competing when my heart quits beating

My Father... He was there when I didn't understand, he was there when I was wrong, he was there when I cried, he was there when I lied. For some reason my dad was always there, when I needed him the most. His love was never ending. And now that he's gone there is an emptiness in my world, but not in my heart.

I have failed many times, but I have never gone into a game expecting myself to fail.

Any fear is an illusion. You think something is standing in your way, but nothing is really there. What is there is an opportunity to do your best and gain some success.

There's only one Michael Jordan.

Failure makes me work even harder.

There have been times when I have failed. But there have never been times when I thought I would fail

Failure is acceptable. but not trying is a whole different ball park.

Confidence allows you to progress in something you're attempting to accomplish, whether it's playing basketball or baseball or whether it's trying to succeed in business.

Failure builds muscle, determination, and dreams.

Maybe it’s my own fault. Maybe I led you to believe it was easy when it wasn’t. Maybe I made you think my highlights started at the free throw line, and not in the gym. Maybe I made you think that every shot I took was a game winner. That my game was built on flash, and not fire. Maybe it’s my fault that you didn’t see that failure gave me strength; that my pain was my motivation. Maybe I led you to believe that basketball was a God given gift, and not something I worked for every single day of my life. Maybe I destroyed the game. Or maybe you’re just making excuses.

Limits, like fear, is often an illusion.

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.

I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career...

If you put your mind to doing whatever it is you want to do, good things can happen.

A leader can't make excuses. There has to be quality in everything you do. Off the court, on the court, in the classroom.

I realized that if I was going to achieve anything in life I had to be aggressive. I had to get out there and go for it... I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it's an illusion to me.

Sometimes a winner is just a dreamer who never gave up.

If it turns out that my best wasn't good enough, at least I won't look back and say that I was afraid to try; failure makes me work even harder.

Nothing of value comes without being earned.

You have to be un-compromised in your level of commitment to whatever you are doing, or it can disappear as fast as it appeared. Commitment cannot be compromised by rewards.

I am competing with what I am capable of.

I'd take 12 guys who had a strong passion for the game over 12 guys who don't respect the game.

Never think of the consequences of failing for you will always think of a negative result. Think only positive thoughts and your mind will gravitate towards those thoughts!

Accept a loss as a learning experience, and never point fingers at your teammates

I can never stop working hard. Each day I feel that I have to improve. Hardwork...Determination...I gotta keep pushing myself.

Look me in the eye. It’s ok if you’re scared. So am I. But we are scared for different reasons. I am scared of what I won’t become. And you are scared of what I could become. Look at me. I won’t let myself end where I started. I won’t let myself finish where I began. I know what is within me, even if you can’t see it yet. Look me in the eyes. I have something more important than courage. I have patience. I will become what I know I am.

Patience. I will become what I know I am.

There was never any fear for me, no fear of failure. If I miss a shot, so what?

You have to be uncompromised in your level of commitment to whatever you are doing, or it can disappear as fast as it appeared... Excellence isn't a one-week or one-year ideal. It's a constant. There will be days when you don't feel on top of your game, or meetings in which you aren't at your best, but your commitment remains constant. No compromises.

The game is my life. It demands loyalty and responsibility, and it gives me back fulfillment and peace.