The Washington Wizards drew criticism on Wednesday for an April Fools Day joke that many found to be cruel and unfunny.
The Wizards pranked an apparent fan during Thursday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers by making him think he had won $10,000 by making a half-court shot while blindfolded. The prank came when he watched his attempt back and was made aware he had not actually made the shot.
The Wizards made a fan think he won $10,000 in an April Fools prank by pretending he made a blindfolded half court shot 😭 pic.twitter.com/MZEfAiGZKM
— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) April 2, 2026
The prank was widely panned online, with many feeling that misleading the fan crossed from funny into needlessly cruel. The Wizards acknowledged that criticism on Thursday by admitting that the entire thing was scripted, but that the skit had still “missed the mark.”
Statement on last night's April Fool's joke. pic.twitter.com/Co3GPjrOhl
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) April 2, 2026
One can see how this would have been a funny idea in the planning stage, but if anything, the skit was too convincing. A lot of fans were convinced that the team had genuinely duped a fan and then publicly pulled the rug out from under him, and they did not like it.
The Wizards are already seen as a bit of a joke and sit at 17-59 after last night’s loss. They didn’t exactly need to do anything to make themselves look even worse.
