LeBron’s pretend sabbatical, Edelman’s faux-unretirement and more of the best April Fools’ Day jokes from the sports world
Jay Williams starts April Fool’s Day early with on-air prank for an unsuspecting Nicole Briscoe on SportsCenter. (1:03)
Anthony Davis and Tom Brady are among the stars who have celebrated April Fools’, the unofficial holiday of practical jokes and tricks with impressive stunts in the past.
In 2018, the Los Angeles Lakers star posted a poll on Twitter asking his followers if he should cut off his famous unibrow. Once voting ended, 50.6% percent said Davis should get rid of it. So on March 31, Davis posted a video of him shaving his unibrow off.
Turns out, it was just an April Fools’ joke. Davis posted a picture on Instagram a day later with his unibrow still intact.
On April 1, 2019, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback shocked the Twitterverse and tweeted that he was retiring from football. Social media was in an uproar until Brady admitted it was a joke. Of course, Brady did a retirement and unretirement for real this year.
This year, some athletes and teams tried their hand at pulling off pranks of their own. Here are some of the best jokes during April Fools’ Day, from LeBron James pretending to peace out to FIBA’s ridiculous thread of pretend basketball rule changes:
I’m out for the season officially. 🤦🏾♂️. See y’all in the fall. 👑✌🏾
Onto the next chapter. 🏴☠️ pic.twitter.com/EmVR17tv6w
posting because I’m fired anyways🤦♂️ pic.twitter.com/zX9fpcE8gT
Introducing our 2022 city jerseys. 😍 #BillsMafia
They’re delicious: https://t.co/ckzNwflodr pic.twitter.com/F8NqICm8af
Unsportsmanlike and tech fouls will be replaced by red and yellow cards. 🟥 🟨 pic.twitter.com/p2lcYvL34n
Replacing player names with Instagram handles on the back of jerseys. 📸 🤳 pic.twitter.com/eguQywxD9T
Player who makes the secondary pass leading to a basket will receive 𝟬.𝟱 assists. 🪙 ½ pic.twitter.com/jHCXBvGrIC