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OAKLAND -- It was April Fools Day on Friday and the Warriors, who started a day early, continued pull to pranks on each other.
There was, according to Festus Ezeli, coach Steve Kerr telling Draymond Green he would sit out the game Friday night against the Celtics.
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And there was, of course, Ezeli exacting revenge on Andre Iguodala – whose prank on Ezeli the previous day went viral.
“It wasn’t an April Fools Joke,” Iguodala said after the team’s morning shootaround. “He was just upset, so he punched me in the face with a cake.”
Asked if Ezeli landed the blow, Iguodala said: “Yeah, he connected.”
For the record, Iguodala was grinning as he retold the story.
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Iguodala on Thursday hatched an elaborate ruse in which Ezeli was asked to participate in a commercial for the ride service Lyft. Ezeli’s driver picked him up and shortly thereafter heard over the radio that the Warriors had released him.
Ezeli began getting texts from teammates expressing their regret and sorrow. All of which made it seem legitimate, which was Iguodala’s intent.
“He knows that I really don’t joke around with my job, so it kind of hit home,” Ezeli said. “My life kind of flashed in front of my eyes in that moment."
The entire video segment, which was shot on the streets of Oakland, was arranged by Iguodala. Both players have been sidelined with injuries.
“I talked to Bob (Myers, general manager),” Ezeli said, “and Bob was like, ‘Why would even believe some stupid prank like that?’ But it was more because my teammates were texting me. So I thought it had to have been real.
“These guys are evil, man.”
When the prank was revealed, Ezeli went after Iguodala with a cake but didn’t quite nail the nimble forward.
So, therefore, the cake bomb on Friday morning.
“I didn’t get him well enough with the cake, like I wanted to, in that video,” Ezeli said. “So I got him pretty good this morning when he came in. He didn’t expect it.”
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