Top 81 Quotes & Sayings by Dwane Casey
Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American coach Dwane Casey.
Last updated on April 15, 2025.
I totally can relate to guys going in for job interviews, and not having a tie, not having a white shirt, and that type of thing to wear. That's why I think as coaches we can do things to help. We have plenty, we as NBA coaches and players are all very blessed to be in a profession so that we can provide for.
I'm not a big car person. I'm not into lots of fancy things.
I'm quite sure there are other things that I could have done in life whether it's working for Humana, teaching in college, high school teacher. Coaching stuck.
From a pure basketball standpoint, it's hard to say you wouldn't want Kawhi Leonard on your team.
Players want to get better with their skill set and 3-point shooting, ballhandling, their bodies, whatever it is, but everything starts with a sense of urgency.
That's the problem with our industry: patience. People want instant NBA stars, and that's not going to happen.
My wife was big in a lot of work in Toronto with charity work.
When I first became a head coach in Toronto, I was more of a dictator, wanted to do everything, all the development, defense, offense, whatever it was.
The only way young players learn how to get better is by playing or get the experience is by playing and getting out there and doing it.
I'm a firm believer in young, old, tall, short, doesn't matter. Basketball is basketball. It's the way you approach it.
It wasn't until I went to college that I started getting interested in style. Then I got jobs that started to pay a bit more money and was able to afford some nice slacks and suits.
I remember going with my grandmother to the houses she cleaned when I was little, and I would have to stay down in the basement while she cleaned, and then we walked back home together.
We don't want to keep talking about 'potential.' That word is the most dangerous word in professional sports.
The consistency of the game calls, I've been on both sides of it. I've been where the whistle has been in favor of you.
When I first became a head coach, even back in Minnesota, I'm going to go with the known and leave the unknown alone.
To me, there's no honor to say, 'I'm going to start.' As long as you're getting minutes, you're closing games, that shows more of the value to the team than to say you're a starter.
Sid Lowe is someone I respect in the league. Knows the game, knows how to teach, great teacher.
There's no disrespect in playing in the G League.
As you get older, as a father, you hope your kids can make that kind of impression on somebody who will say, 'Hey, here's a guy that you want, a guy of character, got his head tied on right, a good student, a good basketball player,' whatever it is.
Help me help you help yourself is kind of the motto I have.
I've been blessed over the years and I want to help guys to feel good about themselves when they're going for job interviews. You walk in for a job interview, you feel good about yourself, you look the part, you get that confidence going.
I think the basketball gods will get you every time if you start trying to mess with the game. You've got to take what the schedule gives you, or who the standings give you.
My grandfather Urey was my hero. He worked three jobs. He had a dry cleaner's factory job in the day and a dry cleaner's factory job at night and when that was done with that, he mopped floors in a restaurant.
I have confidence in my manhood to be able to cry at a movie or at a wedding, too.
Fred VanVleet's story - here's a kid who's not very fast, not very tall, undrafted, had every excuse to not make it big and here he is and he's gonna be one of the top free agents.
Make or miss, you still have to shoot the same shot with confidence.
Growing up it was humble beginnings.
I hope I can stand up and be an example that helps change the narrative: 'He understands the game from a technical standpoint. He can teach the game. He can change an offense. He can put in a zone. He can do more than recruit.'
You can't allow yourself to get typecast as a recruiter, because that label sticks and carries. I fought it. I made myself learn the game and teach the game.
Basketball is like society - you're going to have good and bad.
It's a different animal when you're in the NBA. You come in this league and you've got 7-footers who play 7 foot who are going to protect that rim come hell or high water.
I have a favorite poem. From Rudyard Kipling. It's called 'L'Envoi.'
Sean Sweeney is a defensive guy that did a great job with Milwaukee.
When I was coaching at Kentucky - I was a grad assistant and I just got through playing and we won the NCAA Championship in 1978, so I stayed after I got through playing - we had Japan's national team coach Mototaka Kohama come to Lexington to spend the year and study basketball. He and I became great friends, so we hung out together.
I'm not a very materialistic person.
In Minnesota, we were caught between rebuilding or trying to continue to build around Kevin Garnett. I got caught right in the middle of that. KG was at an age where he was a good player, but he couldn't carry a team anymore. I think my inexperience as far as being a head coach hurt me there.
I was making $19,000 a year, and I thought I was rich.
Outside the Raptors' organization, I definitely think guys like LeBron James, James Harden and Derrick Rose will show off some great looks. On our team, Kyle Lowry has amazing style. But we have a lot of fashionable guys: Patrick Patterson, Bismack Biyombo and Jonas Valanciunas are all really into fashion as well.
You can't surprise LeBron any more. He's such a smart player. His intellect has caught up with his athletic ability.
The NBA made a big move to become more stylish and business-oriented a few years back, and it's made a big change.
My grandparents taught me about hard work, about fear of failure.
It's very difficult to overtly do it. But I try to live my life consistently as a man and as a father.
To me, 60 isn't old. It's a blessing to have my health. I still feel like I'm in my 30s or 40s.
Black, white and brown people have to work together to find new answers. The only way we can stop the systemic problems that people of color have faced all our lives is through honesty and transparency.
I look back and see what life could have been if I hadn't applied myself in basketball, and I'm really thankful for every experience I've had.
To go from the middle to the top is one of the most difficult things you can do in sports.
That really makes you feel good when guys are using some of your terminology and some of your plays in a different country.
I talk to a lot of European coaches. I got friends over there that I steal stuff from, talk to, maybe have them look at what we're doing and say, 'Hey, what would you do differently?'
When it comes to playoff time, the game slows down, the offense slows down and you've got to be able to get stops.
The unwritten rule in college basketball is the black assistant goes and gets the black players. Don't worry about the X's and O's. Just recruit.
You can't have mental breakdowns defensively because teams like Golden State and Cleveland will make you pay dearly.
In fact I only had one sports jacket when I was in high school. It was all sneakers and tees.
I go to bat with people that are loyal to me.
In the NBA, it's wins and losses. You don't have to deal with some of the hypocrisy of college athletics.
Watching a guy go from not having ever played an NBA game before to growing up and developing into an All-Star player, that's probably the most rewarding thing that you can do as a coach.
To be honored by your peers is incredibly gratifying and I am so thankful to my colleagues across the league for this recognition. I'm also grateful to the talented and dedicated coaching staff I work with every day in Toronto. To be recognized with an award that bears Michael H. Goldberg's name is very special.
I love watching players improve - even as a Little League coach.
I knew I was going to have to work my way back to coaching in the States, and I had a job offer here before I went to Japan, but I thought it was the right thing to get away. I had some friends over there.
It irks me when I read the narrative that 'Dwane is salty.' I can't say anything right.
There's nothing that can teach you about the playoffs besides going through it.
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