Mike Krzyzewski Team Quotations

A basketball team is like the five fingers on your hand. If you can get them all together, you have a fist. That's how I want you to play.

Actually, the Kentucky moment was better than winning the two National Championships, because it was the epitome of what I try to get from a team in a crisis situation.

The life expectancy of a team is about eight months. Then the next year, it's a whole new team.

I have a rule on my team: When we talk to one another, we look each other right in the eye, because I think it's tough to lie to somebody. You give respect to somebody.

I think the people who are involved in this program should embrace it, ... When you look up at the scoreboard, it will say the United States. It will never say an individual name. I can promise you we will put together a team that will serve as an example to the rest of the world of the way the game should be played and the way you conduct yourself.

I think we could have done a little better job, but the other team forces you into those situations. I don't think we ever completely adjusted to the physicality of this game. And they did.

We're not going to beat a really good team with J.J. going 5 for 21.

We weren't as good of a team last year. That team did remarkable things - they were a remarkable team to accomplish what they did.

We will put together a team that will represent our country on and off the court and the way the game should be played, ... It's our game and it's time to reclaim it.

That's the best team we've played. They know what they're doing and they do it well. It's a big win for us.

In all forms of leadership, whether you are a coach, a CEO, or a parent, there are four words that, when said, can bring out the best in your team, your employees, and your family. I BELIEVE IN YOU. Those four words can mean the difference between a fear of failure and the courage to try.

You don't just be a team. You become a team. Through tough games you find that you need each other

In leadership, there are no words more important than trust. In any organization, trust must be developed among every member of the team if success is going to be achieved

If a team cannot perform with excellence at a moment's notice, they probably will fail in the long run.

Play and practice like you are trying to make the team.

Talent is important. But the single most important ingredient after you get the talent is internal leadership. It's not the coaches as much as one single person or people on the team who set higher standards than that team would normally set for itself. I really believe that that's been ultimately important for us.

A leader has to show the face his team needs to see.

Goals should be realistic, attainable, and shared among all members of the team

A leader may be the most knowledgeable person in the world, but if the players on his team cannot translate that knowledge into action, it means nothing.

In our program, the truth is the basis of all we do. There is nothing more important than the truth because there's nothing more powerful than the truth. Consequently, on our team, we always tell each other the truth. We must be honest with one another. There is no other way.

You develop a team to achieve what one person cannot accomplish alone. All of us alone are weaker, by far, than if all of us are together.

The worst thing we can do is put the (other) team in a one-and-one.

I try to see each new season as a new challenge because I have a new team to work with, new opponents to encounter, and often new ideas and theories to try

A team is a fist-not five fingers.

I never want to lead a team that is not allowed the freedom to pursue what's in their hearts. If you want your team to be fully committed, then you'd better be fully committed

For a college basketball player or coach, to reach the Final Four is la-la land. You've achieved, you've got your stamp of approval. My first team to do that was in 1986. Then we did it in '88, '89 and '90.

A leader's responsibility to his team is paramount. It overshadows even his own personal feelings at any given time.

People want to be on a team. They want to be part of something bigger than themselves. They want to be in a situation where they feel that they are doing something for the greater good.

Visualize a wagon wheel as a complete team. A leader might be the hub of the wheel at the center. Now suppose the spokes are the connecting relationships the leader is building with people on the outer rim of the wheel. If the hub is removed, then the entire wheel collapses. In a situation like that, if a team loses the leader, the entire team collapses.

Encourage members of your team to take the initiative and act on their own.

During the season, your team should be led with exuberance and excitement. You should live the journey. You should live it right. You should live it together. You should live it shared. You should try to make one another better. You should get on one another if somebody's not doing their part. You should hug one another when they are. You should be disappointed in a loss and exhilarated in a win. It's all about the journey.

In putting together your standards, remember that it is essential to involve your entire team. Standards are not rules issued by the boss; they are a collective identity. Remember, standards are the things that you do all the time and the things for which you hold one another accountable.

If you set up an atmosphere of community and trust, it becomes a tradition. Older team members will establish your credibility with newer ones. Even if they don't like everything about you, they'll say, 'He's trustworthy, committed to us as a team.'

Leaders have to search for the heart on a team, because the person who has it can bring out the best in everybody else.

The best teams are team in any sport that lose themselves in the team. The individuals lose their identity. And their identities come about as a result of being in the team first.

...you can't play any defense if the other team is on the foul line.

When you are speaking to your team after a game, never talk about the kid who was the star of the game. Talk about what your other players did to help the team win. Be sure to spread the wealth... Then have individual meetings with one to three players to praise and reinforce. Make sure you touch them.

I love practice. It is when a coach exercises the most control over the improvement of his or her team.

People have to be given the freedom to show the heart they possess. I think it’s a leader’s responsibility to provide that type of freedom. And I believe it can be done through relationships and family. Because if a team is a real family, it’s members want to show you their hearts.

Mutual commitment helps overcome the fear of failure—especially when people are part of a team sharing and achieving goals. It also sets the stage for open dialogue and honest conversation.

A leader has to be positive about all things that happen to his team. Look at nothing in the past as failure.

The team that trusts-their leader and each other-is more likely to be successful.

When you first assemble a group, it's not a team right off the bat. It's only a collection of individuals

When a leader takes responsibility for his own actions and mistakes, he not only sets a good example, he shows a healthy respect for people on his team

There are five fundamental qualities that make every team great: communication, trust, collective responsibility, caring and pride. I like to think of each as a separate finger on the fist. Any one individually is important. But all of them together are unbeatable