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There is a claim that Chinese warlord, Zhang Zongchang was confused by the sport of basketball:

iFunny

After seeing a basketball game for the first time, he allegedly asked "Why the hell are they fighting over a single ball? We're the hosts. Are we seriously this poor?" He ordered all the players be given a basketball.

The claim is repeated on Novel Updates blog, Reddit and elsewhere, but I can find no primary source.

Oddthinking
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qazwsx
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    The quote makes it sound like he was not only unfamiliar with basketball, but unfamiliar with the entire concept of a sport where teams compete for control of a single ball. That seems especially unlikely given how many different sports work like that. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35409594 suggests that football-like sports already existed in ancient China. – Nate Eldredge Aug 14 '23 at 05:52

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