Life as an NBA rookie can be difficult. Of course, there is the pressure of living up to the countless expectations from fans, team, and even the media. But there is another key aspect in a young athlete’s journey that is not talked about very often. Hazing! Whether it’s a late second-round pick or a future superstar, every rookie faces hazing from their vets in their first year. Well, Spurs’ Stephon Castle became the latest victim of this age-old tradition last night.

Turns out, some Spurs players pulled off a nasty prank on Castle, the video of which was posted by Devin Vassell on his Instagram story. The video starts with several vets accompanying the rookie to his car in the parking lot. As they approach the vehicle, the players begin laughing hysterically as Stephon realizes that his Toyota Supra is standing on bricks without any wheels.

Understandably shocked, Castle even clenches his fist ready to fight his teammates, obviously in good fun. But he did not seem too thrilled about the prank as he paced around the car to check the damages while his teammates continued laughing. His emotions are justified because the rookie just purchased the Supra last month and to see your brand-new ride without wheels is not a pretty sight.

Sure, there have been multiple instances where players have targeted rookies’ cars for hazing, like Donovan Mitchell and Co. filled Jaylon Tyson’s car with popcorn. But taking the wheels of the vehicle is a rare occurrence. Even De’Aaron Fox said it in last night’s postgame interview, “That’s my first time seeing somebody do that.” Looks like the hoop community did not like the prank either.

NBA world calls out Spurs players for “Stupid” prank and question its legality as Jeremy Sochan exposes main culprit

Soon after the video went viral, calls began mounting against the Spurs players who were involved in pranking Castle. Comments like “Just stupid” and “Why would they do that?” began flooding in. One netizen even questioned, “Isn’t this illegal?” Of course, if you do this to a random stranger’s car, it would surely lead to legal action. However, Castle is unlikely to press any charges as the prank was part of hazing and there were no ill intentions behind it.

Moreover, some even believe that the rookie deserved it after a shocking revelation by Fox, “Fox said in the press conference tonight that Steph doesn’t do any Rookie duties. Yeah… a decision had to be made.” While most rookies in the NBA have to perform certain duties, like carrying the vets’ luggage or bringing them food, Fox revealed that’s not the case with Stephon Castle.

“Steph doesn’t do anything. He doesn’t do any rookie duties which is crazy to me… Steph does absolutely nothing. Just nothing… He deserves it for sure.” However, some netizens think Castle’s reaction was justified, “Rookie treatment or not I’d crash out.”

Obviously, this controversial prank raises one major question—who was the mastermind behind it? Well, Jeremy Sochan revealed the name during the post-game presser: “I think Sandro (Mamukelashvili) was the main culprit for that. I don’t know how he did it.” Sochan hilariously added, “I don’t know who he knows, but it might be the Mafia. I don’t know. Can’t mess with Mamu like that.”

Well, do you agree with all the above thoughts? Or do you think Stephon Castle deserved that for not following through on his rookie duties?