Top 109 Quotes & Sayings by Tom Thibodeau

You never know how a season will unfold.

I never look at a clock. When the work's done, the work's done.

I think we all learn probably more from our mistakes than we do our successes.

I was in Philadelphia when Kobe was a senior in high school and he used to come to all our practices and I would work him out.

Figuring out what your players do well and finding a system that will work effectively for them gives you the best chance of winning.

We're all going to get criticized for something. I've always been comfortable with that.

Injuries are part of the game for everybody. You have to manage those circumstances as best you can.

I know what New York is like when the Knicks are successful and there is nothing comparable.

I think that when you sort of look at what's gone on where players are familiar with each other - it starts in high school with AAU. When they get to the pros there's All-Star Games, they share agents and then there's Team U.S.A. stuff. They build relationships.

I think in Boston we had three great players in Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

Most players, they want to be coached, they want discipline, and they want an environment in which they can play their best.

I think I experienced it during the '90s that there's no better place to be than Madison Square Garden.

You set standards so things can be measured and done at a championship level.

All my coaches growing up, they were teachers, coaches, and I always had an appreciation for the most demanding teachers because I thought they got the most out of you.

I think when you look around it's: How can you build a team in which you have more than one star? That part is important.

The game never stays the game - it's always evolving.

When you look at what a coach does, it is leadership, it is communication, it is teaching, it is motivation. It really comes down to those four things.

I think players look around and they look at the teams that they'd like to join and it's usually teams that already have good players on those teams.

Sometimes you think you know someone as a player, but then you spend six weeks together, and you really get to know them as people.

There's a lot that goes into development. Oftentimes people say, well, you have to play them in a game. And you do. But you also have practices, which is where it starts. You have to get that part down first. Then you have to have film study, meetings with your coaches and you also have to have the opportunity to use the G-League.

Some guys are quiet, and that works for them. Some guys are loud, and like to talk, and that's fine. Just get the job done.

The way you execute in this league is through repetition, and that's both offensively and defensively.

I actually grew up a Knick fan - my dad was a Knick fan.

And when you study the NBA, you realize and know that the NBA is never staying the same. It's always evolving, it's always changing.

You know I'm never happy. I'm not happy, unless I'm miserable.

I know where confidence comes from: Work and preparation.

Sometimes to make up ground, if you're in a big hole, you might add more 3-point shooting.

At Team U.S.A., I've worked with Doc Rivers, Jeff Van Gundy, Brendan Malone, not just great head coaches but assistants and great college coaches.

What I look at is, OK, this is our team. How can we get better? What gives us the best chance to win?'

You can't shortcut your way to success.

What wins still goes back to who you are as a player and what you do well. If you're a great 3-point shooter, you try to get as many of those shots as you can. If you're a good driver, get in the restricted area.

I go home and enjoy myself like everyone else.

For me it's always been about being true to yourself.

If you don't control the ball, you're dead.

I don't know where all this stuff comes from. This guy is an offensive guru. This guy is a defensive guru.' I don't even understand that. To me, you're a basketball coach.

Every player is different. And you want them to play to their strengths, and cover up their weaknesses.

I think the big thing is you look at your team, and you always think about ways that you can improve.

I think as you're approaching Draft day, you're thinking about all of the possibilities, and you know that's one way you can improve your club.

You want to practice smart and you want to build a system in which you can bring the best out of each player and also bring the best out of the team.

When you look at coaching in the pros 25-plus years, I have been with rebuilding teams and I have been with championship teams, and so I know all the steps in-between.

I went on vacation with my nephews to St. Thomas and we had a ball.

You have to believe - to me, the only way a team can improve is you have to be sharp.

You miss the camaraderie of being around your team and your staff. It's good to be back in the middle of it all.

I think you learn from every experience, and you have to continue to adapt.

Your core beliefs of what it takes to win, I don't think those change.

I think it's important to reflect at the conclusion of each season. That should never change, in terms of how you evaluate yourself.

You are only wrong if you don't communicate.

You're put into a box where you're either an offensive, defensive coach or a player development guy. Fair or unfair. You have to be whatever your team needs you to be.

Passing and defense are two things that help build your team, brings the best out of people.

There's obviously different roads you can go down. And I think if you study it, how teams are built - and I went through this in Minnesota - the draft is critical, free agency is critical, player development is critical and trade opportunities are critical.

You can have a great season, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're great. To be great you have to do it year after year after year.

Every game reveals exactly where you are. We should have a good understanding after every game why we either won or lost that game.

I grew up in Connecticut, so obviously I'm a Patriots fan.

There will always be some games over the course of the season where we don't shoot the ball great.

There's no shortcuts to winning. You have to be willing to pay the price and be willing to sacrifice.

The physical toughness is the obvious - the ability to push through things no matter what's coming at you, to keep going, to not give in. Never surrender. Usually the victory goes to the guy who can play through it the longest. Of course, the mental part is equally important.

A player is not going to get minutes just to get minutes. You have to impact winning, you have to put the team first.

I try to work out. As an assistant, it was a lot easier to work out. Then as a head coach, not as much as I should have.

'Throw the losses away.' The family mantra.

The start of the season is always an exciting time. You're getting everything off the ground, establishing a style of play, a system.