My first ballet class was on a basketball court. I’m in my gym clothes and my socks trying to do this thing called ballet. I didn’t know anything about it. – Misty Copeland
I was president of the schools in junior high and high school, got a scholarship to New York University, played a little basketball, and was a celebrity. – Louis Gossett, Jr.
Basketball wasn’t going particularly well, but in my senior year, I did a play and got a wonderful card from a professor that said, ‘I don’t know what your plans are after school or if acting is a part of it, but you have something special.’ Hearing that from someone who I had so much respect for pointed me in that direction. – Mahershala Ali
I like playing basketball and going to the gym. I don’t box, but I’ll ride my bike and go jogging or running in the park. Sometimes my lady and I go hiking. – Kevin Hart
It’s good that I put my personal ego aside. My basketball ego was, ‘Why we negotiating?’ But my personal ego didn’t take it personal. I put my personal ego aside a little bit. – Lamar Odom
Basketball was not my main sport in grade school, or even the first year of high school. – Mike Krzyzewski
I think the big thing with O.J. – I’ve known him since he was in high school – and he’s a great kid, loves the game of basketball. – Jason Kidd
Going in, you want to play a perfect season and play throughout the whole entire season, but injuries are a part of basketball. – Kyrie Irving
I’m a basketball player. That’s what I do and what I love but that’s just not all who I am. I’m talented in a lot of different areas. – Kevin Durant
I had a vision of how basketball should be played. And the vision was the Knicks teams that won the championship in 1970 and 1973. I wanted a team that emphasized defense. I wanted a team that on offense had a system where players moved off the ball, and the ball moved. – Jerry Reinsdorf
I think probably one of the coolest things was when I went to play basketball at Rucker Park in Harlem. First of all, who would think that Larry the Cable Guy would go to Harlem to play basketball? And I was received like a rock star. It was amazing! There were people everywhere. There were guys walking by yelling, ‘Git ‘r done!’ – Larry the Cable Guy
I tell kids to pursue their basketball dreams, but I tell them to not let that be their only dream. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
My house was filled with music. We had a piano, and my brothers and sisters played instruments. Even though I was around it, I played basketball. – Michael Franti
I never really called people out. It was more along the lines of teasing a person. It started for me in fifth grade on the basketball court. – Keyshawn Johnson
You know, I think more people should watch women’s basketball. It’d do so much for the game. – Kevin Durant
A lot of late nights in the gym, a lot of early mornings, especially when your friends are going out, you’re going to the gym, those are the sacrifices that you have to make if you want to be an NBA basketball player. – Jason Kidd
One of the questions I get asked a lot is, ‘What do you do to stay in shape?’ My glib answer is, ‘I play.’ But I mean it. Sure, I go to the gym, but I don’t spend my life there. Most of my activity is outdoors, whether it’s basketball or mountain biking or rock climbing. – Jason Lewis
Basketball was my whole life until I was 20 years old. All I knew was basketball. Then came golf, and I thought that’s all I wanted to do then. – Kip Moore
Basketball would have been the natural sport to play, but it’s a little too aggressive for me, so instead I dabbled in volleyball and some good old-fashioned Roller Derby. – Jessica Williams
People making it like I sit there and eat a whole plate of candy before I play a basketball game. I don’t think anyone could do that. – Lamar Odom
There’s nothing to be scared of. We’re playing basketball. The only thing that could happen is you failing. But as long as you’re going hard, there’s nothing to be scared of for me. I don’t know what there is to be scared of. – Kawhi Leonard
My family didn’t have very much money, so ballet wasn’t even on my radar; I just found it randomly when I was 13 at a Boys & Girls Club. We were practicing in a basketball court in gym clothes with some old socks on. Even though it terrified me at first, I found that I really liked it. – Misty Copeland