Ranking the 10 wildest pranks done on NBA rookies

Tony Bobbitt didn’t exactly have a long stay in the NBA. However, he did end up being on the receiving end of a prank which will be remembered for ages. In a Los Angeles Lakers game, which saw Charlie’s Angels star Lucy Liu in attendance, Bobbitt claimed that the Hollywood star had eyes for him.

In response, then-Lakers big man Vlade Divac and Devean George connived to pull off this epic prank by asking a ball boy to give a phone number to Bobbitt, which turned out to be Divac’s. It wasn’t long before the rest of the team got invested in the prank, listening and reading the exchanges. It was until Bobbitt waited for Liu restaurant that he found out it was a prank all along.

2. Shaquille O’Neal’s body wastes

Shaquille O’Neal was a dominant force on the court, carving out a Hall of Fame worthy career. However, he was also a big-time prankster. Years after their playing career, Gary Payton revealed what it was like to be teammates with the Big Diesel. The Glove joined forces with O’Neal while playing for the Lakers and Miami Heat. Payton revealed that the former NBA center would victimize rookies with weeklong urine. Just by the description, the word disgusting is the best and only description for it.

3. Athletic bandages and an ice cold bath for Gilbert Arenas 

As a rookie, veteran players gave Gilbert Arenas the job to get doughnuts for the team. Eventually, Agent Zero tired of spending some cash for his Golden State Warriors teammates. This gave him a mischievous idea that he would soon regret.

Arenas apparently returned to his teammates with the doughnuts they wanted. However, the catch was he has already licked these. In retaliation, his Warriors teammates got their revenge with a prank of their own. As Jason Richardson revealed, they tied up Arenas with athletic bandages and placed him in a cart filled with ice water.

4. Romeo Langford’s expensive bill

Living on a budget is certainly normal, especially when you haven’t received your first paycheck just yet. As a result, that was what Romeo Langford had planned to do before his Boston Celtics teammate Marcus Smart tried to give him a shocker.

On one normal day, Langford headed out for lunch at Chipotle in Boston. With Smart working at the kitchen, he decided to pull off a prank by giving his rookie teammate a $4,500 bill for 320 burritos. Although the Celtics rookie took it quite well, he was certainly relieved when Smart came out of the kitchen.

5. Stephon Castle’s car loses its wheels

The San Antonio Spurs drafted Stephon Castle with the fourth overall pick in 2024. He’s also one of the Spurs’ promising pieces. In the midst of a solid rookie season, his teammates decided to celebrate after a 126-116 victory over the Dallas Mavericks by pulling off a rookie prank Castle will never forget. On the way to the parking lot, he found out that his teammates had removed the wheels of his sports car.

6. A parade for Karl Malone

Karl Malone originally wanted the Dallas Mavericks to take him in the 1985 NBA Draft. Unfortunately for him, the Mavs selected Detlef Schrempf, with Malone landing with the Utah Jazz. Not exactly thrilled, the team did make a hilarious effort to keep him happy.

Then coach Frank Layden informed Malone that the city of Utah will launch a parade for his visit and his birthday. Thrilled with the idea, the Mailman joined in the parade and waved at the residents of Salt Lake City like he was the star of the show. In the end, Malone found out that the parade wasn’t held for his birthday but for Pioneer Day, which was a state holiday.

7. Nik Stauskas’ apartment gets filled with popcorn

Usually, NBA veterans love to use popcorn to fill up rookies’ cars. But for Nik Stauskas, his initiation rites were a bit different. Instead, his teammates Rudy Gay, DeMarcus Cousins, and Reggie Evans took it a step further since he didn’t own a car. His Sacramento Kings teammates literally gave him a house full of popcorn to welcome him in his apartment.

8. Jaylon Tyson’s car is filled with popcorn

Speaking of popcorn, there have been plenty of rookies who had to endure plenty of popcorn in their cars. The long list includes Kenyon Martin, Sterling Brown, Cassius Stanley, and now Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Jaylon Tyson. The brains behind the act was no other than Cavs superstar Donovan Mitchell. It’s going to be a huge hassle to get popcorn out of the car. But on the bright side, the team did come away with a 109-104 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

9. LeBron James fills Bronny James’ car with Fruity Pebbles

Filling cars with things is the norm for NBA rookie pranks. However, what made this interesting was this was between a father and son. Excited about Bronny James’ first NBA game, his father and Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James decided to fill his son’s Lamborghini Urus with some Fruity Pebbles cereal. The scene was captured perfectly for a Nike ad.

10. Devin Booker’s car is filled with packing peanuts

While pranksters usually use popcorn to fill up a car, Devin Booker’s Phoenix Suns teammates decided to be a little nicer by using packing peanuts. Booker had just been announced as a participant at the Three-Point Shooting Contest. At least, he had some packing peanuts to celebrate with. Moreover, it wouldn’t be as hard to clean up compared to popcorn.