About

You Don't Know Ball is a catchphrase typically used online to refute sports-related hot takes, implying that the person's point about a player or team betrays a fundamental lack of understanding of the sport in question. Though typically used in conversations about sports, the phrase was adopted by other subculture fans and used similarly as it spread online in the 2010s and 2020s.

Origin

It's unclear where the phrase began seeing use, but the earliest extant appearances of the phrase online date back to early 2010. On February 11th, 2010, Twitter / X user @Fierrote^[1] stated that if another user couldn't appreciate basketball's San Antonio Spurs, they "don't know ball," though the tweet did not see any significant engagement or spread.

Spread

The catchphrase saw consistent use in sports arguments online over the following decade, particularly in the context of soccer and basketball.

For example, on December 19th, 2019, Twitter user @jmemc55^[2] used the phrase in a tweet that gained over 170 retweets and 1,400 likes in five years.

In the 2020s, the phrase saw increased use in sports discussions, leading to image macros and memes with the catchphrase. One viral edit of the "Clearly, You Don't Own An Air Fryer" template notably features the phrase (example tweeted by @karatedan^[4] on February 8th, 2024 shown below).

The prevalence of the phrase also led to complaints about its oversaturation. For example, on March 21st, 2024, Redditor softp15 posted that they were sick of seeing the catchphrase in Reddit threads, gaining over 30 points in /r/basketball^[3] in seven months.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References