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The Sacramento Kings filled rookie Nik Stauskas' house with popcorn, because pranks

Nik Stauskas looks to the heavens for help. None comes. (Screencap via the Sacramento Kings)

While the NBA has a clearly defined "no bullying" policy, each and every year we see veterans subject first-year players to some type of rookie hazing that thankfully falls far short of some of the bracing stuff seen in other sports. One favored tradition involves making rookies do stuff like wear little girls' backpacks and transport baby dolls in toy strollers. Another features vets filling rooks' cars with garbage bags full of popcorn, which might not last as long as a season full of toting around dolls or schoolbags, but really seems like one heck of a day-ruiner.

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It's a time-honored and buttery burn that's been laid upon such luminaries as Patrick O'Bryant, MarShon Brooks, Dion Waiters, Kent Bazemore and, most notably and frighteningly, Kenyon Martin. It's also become something of a favorite in the Sacramento Kings' locker room.

Vet Bobby Jackson pranked Donte Greene, which led to an exceptionally ill-advised retaliation by Greene. Jason Thompson got it during his rookie season, back before he was the longest-tenured player in Kings history. Tyler Honeycutt felt the salty sting back in 2012. And now, it's 2014 lottery pick Nik Stauskas' turn.

Just one problem, though — Stauskas doesn't have a car. (For that matter, he doesn't even have a driver's license.) So if you're a vet looking to prank your non-vehicle-owning rookie, what do you ruin? The answer, as DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay and Reggie Evans tell us: home is where the prank is.

"Hold on, hold on," Stauskas says after discovering the vets' handiwork. "This is, like, horrible. Like, how am I gonna clean this?"

And that, my friends, is why the prank's popularity persists, despite it being sort of a tired bit. Having to clean up popcorn stinks. Sometimes, you don't have to look too hard for the joke.

Stauskas later said he "deserved" the theater-snack treatment:

... but that didn't mean he wasn't still a little salty about it:

(Wait: what is a good time to get your place popcorned? Is there such a thing?)

I don't blame you, Nik. All you can try to do is take a deep breath, call a cleaning service, pay for the premium package, throw some of your new "Sauce Castillo"-themed signature hot sauce on a handful of the evidence and have yourself a little snack. Hang in there, Mr. Castillo. The rookie year's almost over.

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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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