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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.

Larry Bird

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Larry Bird
Age: 67
Born: 1956
Born: December 7
Basketball Coach
Basketball Player
Coach
Larry Legend
The Great White Hope
The Hick from French Lick
Larry Joe Bird
Mr. Wonderful
Kodak
Even
High
Fundamentals
Think
Didn
Competition
Thinking
School
Basketball
Able
Habit
Toughest
Reason
Development
Mastered
Wells
College
Nba
Well
Playing
Habits
Play
Practice
Crucial

More quotes by Larry Bird

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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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The more you win, the better you're gonna get. It grows on itself.
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You know when I played, you had me and Kevin (McHale) and some others throughout the league. 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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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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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.
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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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Anytime you've got an opportunity to play for your country and win a gold medal, 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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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.
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You're all playin' for second place.
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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.
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What's better? Dogs or broomsticks? I mean will the world really ever know?
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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.
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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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Guys like Larry Bird -- he played so hard, he wants everybody else to play hard. That's not unreasonable. Any coach would want that and demand that.
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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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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.
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Michael Jordan is God disguised as a basketball player.
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Push yourself again and again. Don't give an inch until the final buzzer sounds.
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It makes me sick when I see a guy just stare at a loose ball and watch it go out of bounds.
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I'm a firm believer in that you play the way you practice.
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