His Royal Airness, Michael Jordan, has just turned 50, and the web is all-abuzz with various articles, excerpts, and footage replaying all the top 50 everything in his life, from tongue-wagging techniques to spectacular memories. Of course, all this wouldn’t be complete without a selection of the top 50 Michael Jordan quotes of all time.
We hope this selection of inspirational quotes from one of the greatest athletes of all time will help propel you forward in both sports and life. Enjoy!
#50. Michael Jordan on Returning from Retirement
I’m back.
#49. Michael Jordan on His Wife
The game is my wife. It demands loyalty and responsibility, and it gives me back fulfillment and peace.
#48. Michael Jordan on Himself
There’s only one Michael Jordan.
#47. Michael Jordan on Goal Setting
I set another goal … a reasonable, manageable goal that I could realistically achieve if I worked hard enough. I approached everything step by step.
#46. Michael Jordan on Decision-Making
Once I made a decision, I never thought about it again.
#45. Michael Jordan on Problems
When I step onto the court, I don’t have to think about anything. If I have a problem off the court, I find that after I play, my mind is clearer and I can come up with a better solution. It’s like therapy. It relaxes me and allows me to solve problems.
#44. Michael Jordan on Heart
Heart is what separates the good from the great.
#43. Michael Jordan on Focus
I would tell players to relax and never think about what’s at stake. Just think about the basketball game. If you start to think about who is going to win the championship, you’ve lost your focus.
#42. Michael Jordan on Practice
You can practice shooting eight hours a day, but if your technique is wrong, then all you become is very good at shooting the wrong way. Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise.
#41. Michael Jordan on Aggressiveness
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.
#40. Michael Jordan on Giving His Best
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.
#39. Michael Jordan on Fundamentals
The minute you get away from fundamentals – whether it’s proper technique, work ethic or mental preparation – the bottom can fall out of your game, your schoolwork, your job, whatever you’re doing.
#38. Michael Jordan on Losing
I’ve never lost a game. I just ran out of time.
#37. Michael Jordan on Love
What is Love? Love is playing every game like it’s your last.
#36. Michael Jordan on Commitment
You have to be uncompromised 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. Excellence isn’t a one-week or one-year ideal. It’s a constant. There will always be days where 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.
#35. Michael Jordan on Sweating
I’m not out there sweating for three hours every day just to find out what it feels like to sweat.
#34. Michael Jordan on Excuses
Maybe it’s my 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 gave me 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.
#33. Michael Jordan on Improving
I listened, I was aware of my success, but I never stopped trying to get better.
#32. Michael Jordan on Ability
Everybody has talent, but ability takes hard work.
#31. Michael Jordan on Learning
To learn to succeed, you must first learn to fail.
#30. Michael Jordan on Tiredness
Every time I feel tired while I’m exercising and training, I close my eyes to see the picture, to see that list with my name. This usually motivates me to work again.
#29. Michael Jordan on Perfection
There is no such thing as a perfect basketball player, and I don’t believe there is only one greatest player either.
#28. Michael Jordan on Competition
You have competition every day because you set such high standards for yourself that you have to go out every day and live up to that.
#27. Michael Jordan on Waking Up
I want to wake up every day and do whatever comes in my mind, and not feel pressure or obligations to do anything else in my life.
#26. Michael Jordan on Winning
There is no “i” in team but there is in win.
#25. Michael Jordan on Talent
I built my talents on the shoulders of someone else’s talent.
#24. Michael Jordan on Challenges
I want to be perceived as a guy who played his best in all facets, not just scoring. A guy who loved challenges.
#23. Michael Jordan on Limits
Never say never, because limits like fears, are often just an illusion.
#22. Michael Jordan on Love of the Game
Even when I’m old and grey, I won’t be able to play it, but I’ll still love the game.
#21. Michael Jordan on Situations
Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation.
#20. Michael Jordan on Selfishness
To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish. Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don’t isolate.
#19. Michael Jordan on Making It Happen
Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.
#18. Michael Jordan on His Fans
I hope the millions of people I’ve touched have the optimism and desire to share their goals and hard work and persevere with a positive attitude.
#17. Michael Jordan on Consequences
I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot… when you think about the consequences you always think of a negative result.
#16. Michael Jordan on Caliber
The best evaluation I can make of a player is to look in his eyes and see how scared they are.
#15. Michael Jordan on Expectations
If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome.
#14. Michael Jordan on Enthusiasm
I play to win, whether during practice or a real game. And I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win.
#13. Michael Jordan on Hard Work
I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come.
#12. Michael Jordan on Fundamentals
When I was young, I had to learn the fundamentals of basketball. You can have all the physical ability in the world, but you still have to know the fundamentals.
#11. Michael Jordan on Expectations
You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.
#10. Michael Jordan on Trying
My father used to say that it’s never too late to do anything you wanted to do. And he said, ‘You never know what you can accomplish until you try.’
#09. Michael Jordan on Fear
I’ve never been afraid to fail.
#08. Michael Jordan on Life
Be true to the game, because the game will be true to you. If you try to shortcut the game, then the game will shortcut you. If you put forth the effort, good things will be bestowed upon you. That’s truly about the game, and in some ways that’s about life too.
#07. Michael Jordan on Championships
Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.
#06. Michael Jordan on Attitude
My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength.
#05. Michael Jordan on Fun
Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.
#04. Michael Jordan on Obstacles
If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.
#03. Michael Jordan on Basketball
The game of basketball has been everything to me. My place of refuge, place I’ve always gone where I needed comfort and peace. It’s been the site of intense pain and the most intense feelings of joy and satisfaction. It’s a relationship that has evolved over time, given me the greatest respect and love for the game.
#02. Michael Jordan on Failure
I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.
#01. Michael Jordan on Success
I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed…
What are your favorite Michael Jordan quotes of all time? Let’s hear them as we now sit around a digital online fireplace, roasting chewy marshmallows and delicious sizzling hot dogs, while reminiscing about old times…
