Wizards Apologize for April Fools' Joke After Viral Video of Fan's Blindfolded Half-Court Shot

The Washington Wizards are showing remorse after some fans thought they took things too far with their April Fool's joke in Wednesday's game against the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Wizards appeared to prank a fan by making him think he won $10,000 by hitting a half-court shot while blindfolded, but they released an apology on Thursday revealing that the entire segment was scripted and "all participants were in on the joke."

While the skit may have been intended to be funny, it's hard for Wizards fans to find amusement amid a 2025-26 season that has been one long April Fool's joke. Washington suffered a 153-131 loss to Philadelphia in front of its home fans to fall to 17-59, the worst record in the NBA.

76ers-Wizards Highlights

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The Wizards haven't won 20 games in a season since the 2022-23 campaign. The NBA draft lottery hasn't been very kind to them, as the last time they've had the No. 1 pick was 2010.

Luckily for Washington, this year's draft class is filled with talented prospects who are expected to make an immediate impact in the NBA. In his latest mock draft, B/R's Jonathan Wasserman predicted that the Wizards would land Kansas sharpshooting guard Darryn Peterson with the No. 2 pick.

"Despite all the controversy around his injuries and in-game tap-outs earlier in the season, he still averaged 20.2 points on 43.8 percent shooting (38.2 percent from three) while playing 29.0 minutes a game. Peterson's shotmaking skill remains as exciting it seemed at Prolific Prep," Wasserman wrote. "We also learned he's very comfortable scoring from off the ball, a good sign considering his ball-dominant role at Prolific Prep. He posted productive and efficient numbers playing a lot of reps out of spot-ups, running around screens and taking dribble handoffs."

Adding Peterson would hopefully help the Wizards end their perpetual rebuild and stop being the laughing stock of the league. For now, Washington will keep the jokes to a minimum as the regular season nears its end.