Larry Bird Quotes

Our Larry Bird quotes showcase some of the basketball knowledge, competitiveness, and spunk of this Hall-of-Famer. Bird, a basketball player who gave fans his all, was noted for his clutch performances.

Known as the “Hick from French Lick,” Larry’s confidence in his game was unmatched. Bird was named the NBA’s MVP for three consecutive years (1984 – 1986). He gained a well-earned reputation for talking smack on the court — but nearly always backed it up with his shooting, passing, and overall game.

The Boston Celtics’ legend is also noted for his practice habits, control of the game, and being the master of the closing seconds of every game.

Best Larry Bird Quotes

1. Who is coming in second? (To his fellow three-point contestants at the NBA Three-Point Contest in 1988. Bird had won the two previous contests.)
2. I’ve got a theory that if you give 100% all of the time, somehow, things will work out in the end.
3. The best players will play. That’s the way it will always be.
4. Push yourself again and again. Don’t give an inch until the final buzzer sounds.
5. 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.
6. First, master the fundamentals.
7. I like being by myself.
8. I hate to lose more than I like to win.
9. I’m a firm believer that you play the way you practice.
10. It doesn’t matter who scores the points. It’s who can get the ball to the scorer.
11. When I was young, I never wanted to leave the court until I got things exactly correct. My dream was to become a pro.

See How many NBA Championship rings Larry Bird won.

Good Larry Bird Quotes

1. 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.
2. The best player I ever played with was Dennis Johnson.
3. Once you are labeled “The Best,” you want to stay up there, and you can’t do it by loafing around. If I don’t keep changing, I’m history.
4. When it gets down to it, basketball is basketball.
5. I’m a firm believer in that you play the way you practice.

Read all about Larry Bird: Clutch Player (and Trash Talker)

Funny Larry Bird Quotations

1. What’s better? Dogs or broomsticks? I mean, will the world really ever know?
2. I know you guys are desperate, but can’t you find someone who at least has a prayer? (To the opposition’s bench after not thinking highly of the opponent sent out to guard him.)
3. Tomorrow night’s the last game of the trip; I’m going to play this one left-handed, at least through three-quarters. (Bird did only shoot left-handed and scored 47 points with 20 points coming left-handed.)
4. I’m saving my right hand for the Lakers. (When asked why he played left-handed.)
5. You never make any of the shots you never take. 87% of the ones you do take, you’ll miss too. I make 110% of my shots.
6. (On 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.

On Basketball

1. Basketball has been my life, and I worked at it so hard because I enjoyed it so much.
2. I always know what’s happening on the court. I see a situation occur, and I respond.
3. I’ve got a theory that if you give 100% all of the time, somehow, things will work out in the end.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. It makes me sick when I see a guy just stare at a loose ball and watch it go out of bounds.
7. Practice habits were crucial to my development in basketball. 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. You’ve got to have them down before you can even think about playing.

A Learning Experience

1. I learned what my weaknesses were, and I went out the next day to turn those weaknesses into strengths.
2. It’s been a journey, the NBA. It’s taken me a lot farther than I ever expected.
3. He’s calm, he’s cool, he knows he’s gonna make this. (On Kevin Mchale, who missed two important free throws in the 1984 NBA Finals)
4. It takes guts to play defense because you can loaf out on the court, and nobody will know it. Only you will know if you did your best to grab a loose ball or stop your man from scoring.
5. When I was a player, I didn’t expect my teammates to play the way I did. I did expect them to work hard every day and get better. And I never learned anything by losing.

Bird On Competition

1. There is nothing better than being out there when the game is on the line.
2. Don’t let winning make you soft. Don’t let losing make you quit. (And) Don’t let your teammates down in any situation.
3. The nature of competition is such that any number of people invariably have their eyes on the same prize you do. Recognize your assets and employ them to the best of your ability.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. My opinion about basketball, the way I was taught, was when you step on the court, you play to win
8. I wasn’t real quick, and I wasn’t real strong. Some guys will just take off, and it’s like, whoa. So I beat them with my mind and my fundamentals.
9. My thoughts were always that that night was the most important game in the world. Everybody in the world was watching that one game. And I had to be the best player on the court and win that game that night. That was my mentality, and it stuck with me all the way through my career.

On Race in Basketball

1. I mean, the greatest athletes in the world are African-American.
2. 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.
3. As far as playing, I didn’t care who guarded me – red, yellow, black. I just didn’t want a white guy guarding me because it’s disrespect to my game.
4. The 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.

Best Larry Bird Sayings

1. I wasn’t real quick, and I wasn’t really strong. Some guys will just take off, and it’s like, whoa. So I beat them with my mind and my fundamentals.
2. When I was young, I never wanted to leave the court until I got things exactly correct. My dream was to become a pro.
3. 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.
4. My goal was just to try and be the best player on my high school team and look where I am now. And that was still my goal as a young kid, just to try and be a little better than my brother was.
5. I really don’t like talking about money. All I can say is that the Good Lord must have wanted me to have it.
6. Push yourself again and again. Don’t give an inch until the final buzzer sounds.
7. While day by day, the overzealous student stores up facts for future use, he who has learned to trust nature finds a need for ever fewer external directions. He will discard formula after formula until he reaches the conclusion: Let nature take its course.

Bird on Coaching

1. I was always making decisions, and they were easier decisions because I had control of the game, I had control of the ball. As a coach, you sort of put the ball in other player’s hands and let them make decisions for you. But I still get a kick out of winning basketball games, and that’s what I’m in this for.
2. 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.

Larry Bird’s Quotes On Leadership

1. Leadership is getting players to believe in you. If you tell a teammate you’re ready to play as tough as you’re able to, you’d better go out there and do it. Players will see right through a phony. And they can tell when you’re not giving it all you’ve got.
2. Basketball has been my life, and I worked at it so hard because I enjoyed it so much.
3. Leadership is diving for a loose ball, getting the crowd involved, and 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.
4. When I was a player, I didn’t expect my teammates to play the way I did. I did expect them to work hard every day and get better.
5. My name’s been on this check for a week now. (After winning NBA 3-point contest)

Larry Bird Quotes FAQ

Here are some frequently asked questions about Larry Bird’s quotes.

Bird After The Celtics

Larry went on after his Celtics’ career to coach the NBA’s Indiana Pacers. After the Bird-led Pacers pushed the Chicago Bulls to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals, Bird earned NBA Coach of the Year honors. He can add that to his many accolades, including NBA Rookie of the Year (selected ahead of Magic Johnson) and NBA Finals MVP. It should also be noted that Bird’s Celtics won three NBA Championships.

In 2003, Bird became the Indiana Pacers’ president of basketball operations. Bird was recognized as the NBA Executive of the Year after the 2011-2012 season. Bird retired in 2012 for health reasons but returned immediately in 2013 and stayed in that role until stepping down in 2017. In 2023, Bird rejoined the Pacers’ organization in an advisory capacity.

I hope you enjoyed these fun Larry Bird quotes. Having seen him play many a televised game, I totally understand why fans call him “Larry Legend.”

By Mike O’Halloran

Founder and Editor, Sports Feel Good Stories

Mike O’Halloran founded Sports Feel Good Stories in 2009. He co-authored four trivia books for kids under the Smart Attack line. Mike coached basketball for 15 seasons, taught tennis, and has written four books on basketball coaching. He has been a contributing writer for USA Football, the youth arm of the NFL. Mike is the founder of the Fantasy Football Team Names Hall of Fame.

Overtime

You’re on our Larry Bird Quotes page.

You might like:

Basketball Quotes Main Menu

Inspirational Basketball Quotes

Basketball Coaching Quotes

Funny Basketball Quotes