83 Quotes by Bill Russell

Don't knock the ball in the stands, keep it in your hands!

The only important statistic is the final score.

We couldn't sustain it. And they got a lot of kids that can shoot. We just couldn't close out well enough.

I hope I epitomize the American dream. For I came against long odds, from the ghetto to the very top of my profession. I was not immediately good at basketball. It did not come easy. It came as the result of a lot of hard work and self-sacrifice. The rewards, where they worth it? One thousand times over.

I don't have very many regrets, not because I lived a perfect life but because life is a bunch of rolling hills, not mountains, or speed bumps instead of stop signs, and so you come to a situation and it's neither good or bad, it just is, and what it means to you is what's your take on it. But the second part of the equation is what are you going to do about it. A lot of times I'm completely wrong, but all you do is back up and start over.

Friendship is a full-time job.

I think what has happened to our basketball team, we've been badly distracted. They're not reading too many positive things in the paper.

On females officiating in the NBA -Incompetence should not be confined to one sex.

Heart in champions has to do with the depth of our motivation and how well your mind and body react to pressure - that is, being able to do what you do best under maximum pain and stress.