Red Auerbach quotes pay tribute to one of the best coaches and general manager in NBA history.
As the head coach of the Celtics from 1950 to 1966, Auerbach led the team to an incredible nine NBA championships. His teams won eight consecutive titles from 1959 to 1966. This remains an NBA record and is considered by many experts never to be broken.
The Boston Celtics coaching legend was known for pulling out his victory cigar when his Boston team had the game in hand. A close examination of his legacy tells the story of the mastermind behind the Celtics dynasty and a man who had a major impact on modern basketball.
Best Red Auerbach Quotes
- An acre of performance is worth a whole world of promise.
- If you’re keeping score, win!
- Power is ego.
- Look after your people.
- The coach should be the absolute boss, but he still should maintain an open mind.
- If they think we’ve got an edge, we’ve got an edge.
- Just do what you do best.
- All records are made to be broken.
- Winners train, losers complain.
- Give me twelve players that want to win, and they will find a way to win.
- Take pride in what you do. The kind of pride I’m talking about is not the arrogant, puffed-up kind; it’s just the whole idea of caring – fiercely caring.
- The most important thing in basketball is having respect for your teammates and your opponents. Without that, you’ll never succeed.
- You don’t just luck into things as much as you would like to think you do. You build step by step, whether it’s friendships or opportunities.
Red Auerbach On Basketball
- They said you have to use your five best players, but I found you win with the five who fit together the best.
- You can’t win without the ball.
- All records are made to be broken.
- Everything can happen in the playoffs.
- The commercial class has always mistrusted verbal brilliancy and wit, deeming such qualities, perhaps with some justice, frivolous and unprofitable.
- Phil is obviously a good coach. You don’t win that many games without being a damn good coach, … Remember one thing: He’s been very fortunate. He picks his spots. That’s all I can say.
- A little talent is a good thing to have if you want to be a basketball player. A lot of talent is always better.
- Basketball is like war in that offensive weapons are developed first, and it always takes a while for the defense to catch up.
- Players are people, not horses. You don’t handle them. You work with them, you coach them, you teach them, and, maybe most important, you listen to them.
See Bill Russell and his 11 NBA Championship titles.
Good Red Auerbach Quotes
- Stand up for your players. Show them you care on and off the court.
- It’s not what you tell your players that counts. It’s what they hear.
- The best way to forget one’s self is to look at the world with attention and love.
- I never had a set of rules. Every situation is different.
- You got to be lucky. Like for example, one time in the seventh game of a playoff, somebody took a shot — I think it was Nelson or Ramsey or Sam — and it hit the backboard, hit the rim, rolled around, went in, and made me a hell of a coach. You know what I mean?
- If they think we’ve got an edge, we’ve got an edge.
- If you want to be a Champion, you’ve got to feel like one, you’ve got to act like one, you’ve got to look like one.
- And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start a team today, the greatest player and the one guy I would take would be Larry Bird.
- The Boston Celtics are not a basketball team; they are a way of life.
See Remembering John Havlicek.
Auerbach’s Insights Into Hoops and Life
- To a father, when a child dies, the future dies; to a child, when a parent dies, the past dies.
- I don’t believe in statistics. There are too many factors that can’t be measured. You can’t measure a ballplayer’s heart.
- Natural abilities are like natural plants; they need pruning by study.
- When you get a good coach, whether it be a Phil Jackson or somebody else, what the hell does it take to have a ready-made ball club that’s star-studded?
- Grandchildren will wear you out.
- There’s no player today who compares to Bill Russell. As great as Shaq is, it would have been interesting to have Chamberlain knock bodies with him or Russell blocking all his shots. See? Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, John Havlicek, shoot! I mean, John Stockton is a hell of a player, but I don’t take him ahead of Cousy.
- I never had a set of rules. Every situation is different.
- The only correct actions are those that demand no explanation and no apology.
- Any coach needs talent. You start with talent. Without talent, we’re all in the soup.
- If I were a painter, I would have painted pictures that were winning basketball games.
Celtics Greats That Red Auerbach Coached or Drafted
Red was the architect of the Celtics dynasty.
Here are just some of the players he brought in:
- Bill Russell
- Larry Bird
- Kevin McHale
- John Havlicek
- Bob Cousy
- Robert Parish
- Dave Cowens
- Sam Jones
Red Auerbach’s Legacy
Red Auerbach was one of the greats who truly loved the game of basketball. His career record as a coach was 938 victories and 479 defeats.
Auerbach drafted the league’s first African-American player, Chuck Cooper, making the history of the NBA. In 1964, he featured a starting five who was all black. He appointed the first black head coach in the NBA with Bill Russell.
As a coach, Auerbach stressed teamwork and mental preparation. He didn’t focus on individual statistics. He also believed in the value of a fast break in basketball. Given his number of league championships, it’s hard to argue with his approach.
By Mike O’Halloran
Founder and Editor, Sports Feel Good Stories
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