April Fools: 5 overdone NBA pranks

When it comes to jokes, the NBA supplies plenty of laughs.

Each week, helpless jokers like Lance Stephenson and Austin Rivers fill blooper reels with a comedy of errors. Shows like Inside the TNT's "Shaqtin' a Fool" are immensely popular, and the comic relief that comes from on-court antics is more than enough to make you crack a grin.

When it comes to pranks, though, the NBA could use some more creativity. It's a rite of passage for veterans to pulls gags on rookies - especially on April Fools' Day - but it gets repetitive.

Here are the five most overdone pranks in the NBA.

5. Sleeping pictures

A minor intrusion of privacy can be funny (as opposed to secretly taping players and then having it leak; that's not funny whatsoever). And with exhausted players constantly on the road, snapping pictures of sleeping teammates is practically a daily occurrence.

Nobody loves #GotEm more than the Los Angeles Clippers.

Snoring snaps are ultimately harmless, and offer a hilarious behind-the-scenes look at what goes on between tipoffs, but just let people sleep before it goes too far.

"I put the blanket on my head, everything on my head - the jacket, the blanket - and I sleep light," then-Clippers forward Caron Butler told the Los Angeles Times in 2012. "I got booby traps all over the plane just in case somebody comes and tugs on my leg, so I'm watching everybody."

That's a veteran move right there.

4. Fake trades

Everybody hates fake Adrian Wojnarowski, or fake Marc Stein. Nobody likes it when they're duped into thinking that their team made a move at the trade deadline when in fact it's just some prankster who ensnared enough retweets to cause a fleeting moment of panic.

Now imagine you were the real player involved in those fake trades, instead of a convincing Twitter account with an extra underscore, and it was your actual co-worker breaking the news.

That's what Andre Iguodala, with the help of several teammates, did to injured center Festus Ezeli.

The Ezeli prank was funny, and it's good that Iguodala intercepted him with the truth before Ezeli went too far, but it can be devastating for fringe players.

Namely, soon-to-be retired Lakers trainer Gary Vitti would routinely prank one player each season at the trade deadline. This year's victim was poor Robert Sacre, who's essentially one cap-convenient machination away from leaving the league altogether.

Don't trifle with someone's career like that.

3. Mascot Scream

It's staple of the mascot handbook: Hide in a costume, pretend to be inanimate, and scare the headphones right off players passing by.

It's funny every time, but it gets old. Almost every single mascot has pulled off some variation of this prank. It's best to change it up - like when Goran Dragic had someone in a dinosaur costume spook the Phoenix Suns.

Probably unrelated: the Suns traded Dragic later that season.

2. Leading the celebration

Those poor rookies. They always get it bad.

The problem with the solo celebration trick is that it's not much of a prank. The veterans get in a good snicker, but then they simply join the rookies on the court. It's not that embarrassing.

1. Popcorn car

The leader in the clubhouse, by far, is the car prank. Every year, some poor player has his car filled with popcorn, or if they're lucky, with packing peanuts.

The Kings got Jason Thompson. The Jazz got Rudy Gobert. The Suns got Shaquille O'Neal back in the day. As sure as winter relents to a spring thaw, NBA players fill teammates' expensive luxury cars with junk.

Here's the thing: it's damn near impossible to clean up, and way too annoying. Popcorn is greasy and salty. That doesn't mix well with leather interiors. Small objects also tend to get stuck under seats and pedals. It's just a whole hassle.