It’s not April Fools Day yet, but Andre Iguodala is ahead of the curve.
The Golden State Warriors guard pulled a brutal prank on teammate Festus Ezeli, which hit the web Thursday. With the help of the car-sharing service Lyft, Iguodala set up the backup center to believe he had been cut.
This was a pretty multi-faceted prank. Iguodala had to get Lyft in on it, plus those talk radio hosts and many of his Warriors teammates. How did he get Ezeli into that specific Lyft at that time? The world may never know.
Ezeli, a 2012 first-round pick, has become a pretty reliable back-up center (7.5 points, 5.9 rebounds a game this season) but has battled injuries this season. It would seem unlikely he would be released, but Golden State does love small-ball and recently added Anderson Varejao, so you never know.
Athletes always seem to be pulling this awful pranks on each other, and you just keep waiting for the victim to turn around and punch the prankster in the face. You’re messing with a man’s livelihood here. The Ezeli prank is reminiscent of this equally savage prank from a few years ago in which the Phillies convinced pitcher Kyle Kendrick he had been traded to Japan for a hot-dog eater.
At least Iguodala got a cake to the face as punishment for deceiving Ezeli, but he probably deserved worse.
