36 Of The Best Quotes On Basketball Defense

Welcome to the 36 Chambers of Basketball Defense.

I’ve always enjoyed playing defense.

There’s something about getting a stop that’s very satisfying to me.

Like, there’s a certain euphoric feeling I get when I get multiple steals in a row.

Or when I get a block -ohh wee, that stuff is pure [insert drug of choice here].

I don’t even wanna tell you how I feel when I lock down a faster, quicker opponent and make him lose his tracks and have to dump the ball off.

So, to celebrate the wonderful NBA Defense Week, here are 36 of the best quotes on defense from players and coaches:

1. ”In all the research you do as a coach, studying other coaches and championship-type situations, you find that all those teams combined talent with great defense. You’ve got to stop other teams to win.” - Pat Riley

2. “Defense is just hard work. There will be nights when your shots won’t fall, but you can play good defense every night.”  - Red Auerbach

3. “Defense is a choice, not a chore.” - Gregg Popovich

4. “Kawhi is the reason why I made that all-defensive team my second year. He came to me and he was like ‘Bro, don’t worry about getting 15, 20 points, go make the all-defensive team… So go make that all-defensive team. Now you stamped yourself. You can play D, so now they gotta have you on the floor. So if you on the floor, your ass gonna have to be able to play offense too.’” -Dejounte Murray

5. “Great defense is about disrupting the other team’s flow and taking them out of their comfort zone.” - Becky Hammon

6. “If you’re not talking, you’re not playing defense.” - Doc Rivers

7. “We have a simple rule for switching. Anytime there is movement over the top of a screen, there has to be an automatic switch. If a blind pick is set on one of our defensive players, there has to be a switch. To play good pressure defense, you have to use the switch.” - Ralph Miller

8. “Defense is all about heart and desire. You have to want to play defense and you have to want to stop the other team.” - John Stockton

9. “Defense is about making your opponent work harder than they want to.” - Mark Jackson

10. “Probably the most important aspect of individual defensive play is the ‘close-out.’ This approach to the ball should be made in a ‘step-drag action’ with advanced foot moving forward first and then the back foot in a boxer’s type shuffling of the feet.” - Tex Winter

11. “I want us to play mother-in-law defense: constant nagging and harassment.” - Rick Pitino

12. “People always talk about going on offensive runs. But you can go on defensive runs too.” - Tom Thibodeau

13. “Defense is about being in the right position, at the right time, with the right attitude.” - Avery Johnson

14. “Defense is about anticipating your opponent’s next move.” - Tony Allen

15. “There is a technical part and a life part to defensive play. The life part consists of three things that must be very prominent in good defense: courage, intelligence, and energy. If you have a good dose of heart, head, and legs working for you you can become a good defensive player.” - Pete Carril

16. “Defense is about playing with your mind, not just your body.” - Gary Payton

17. “Defense is not just about blocks and steals. It’s about making the other team uncomfortable and taking them out of their comfort zone.” - Dennis Rodman

18. “The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot.” - Bill Russell

19. “Defense is about making your opponent uncomfortable, both mentally and physically.” - Kevin McHale

20. “You don't contest shots without expending energy. You don't get deflections - unless you walk into one every now and then - without expending energy. These are the things in basketball you have to really want to do." - Draymond Green

21. “You need to be tough enough to make the hustle plays, run down loose balls, run-down long boards and communicate on defense.” - John Thompson

22. “Defense is not just stopping the opponent, it’s also about creating turnovers.” - Scottie Pippen

23. “I was taught from a very young age that if you get stops -and this is a little bit dramatic, but this is how I was taught- but if you get a stop every possession, the worst that can happen is the game ends in a tie. But if you let them score every possession, you can still lose. So, I’m always thinking ‘get stops’ if I’m trying to win.” - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

24. “Rebounding is not about how tall you are or how high you jump, it’s about positioning and quickness.” - Bill Walton

25. “Defense is all about attitude. It’s about wanting to stop the other team and not letting them score.” - Kobe Bryant

26. “For us to be successful on defense, we must get back and stop the basketball, eliminate easy baskets, keep the ball out of the lane, and bother the shooters.” - Dick Bennett

27. “Great defense consists of 3 R’s: read, react, and rotate.” - Peter P. Carr

28. “When covering the man with the ball, the defense should be able to touch the ball with his hand. He should assume this touching position as the ball is being received. When the ball is received, the defense should discourage the pass into the post area. The hands should be kept up. Keeping the hands up reduces a tendency to foul and allows a player to move his hands quickly.” - Ralph Miller

29. “Defense is a mindset, not a technique.” - Kevin Garnett

30. “I believe that good defense embodies seven cardinal principles: reduce the number of your opponent’s shots; force your opponent into low percentage shots; control everything within 18 feet; eliminate second shots; no easy baskets; point the ball on all long shots; and prevent the ball from going into the pivot man.” - Adolph Rupp

31. “Defense is not a one-person job; it takes all five players working together.” - Nancy Lieberman

32. “Defense is about being the aggressor, not the victim.” - Ron Artest

33. "Think about the deflections. The offense can't score every play. They're just trying to get a good shot. If I can deflect a pass, even if it doesn't cause a turnover, it will throw their timing off half a second. That half-a-second might mess up their shot." - Draymond Green

34. “Defense is about being disciplined, focused, and committed.” - George Karl

35. “Throwing different guys at [Luka Doncic]. Different guys that play defense differently. Some aggressive, some not. I think even our white guys guard. Hopefully, it's a challenge on him and hopefully we can continue to do that.” - Jrue Holiday

36. “Defense is about making your opponent question their decisions.” - Terry Porter

Hope this list of defensive knowledge inspires you to play hard lockdown defense on the court today.

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