The Aspiration scandal has loomed large over the Los Angeles Clippers following Pablo Torre's initial reporting on his podcast last fall. On his podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out, Torre has done extensive reporting alleging that Kawhi Leonard signed a secret $28 million endorsement deal with the eco-friendly tech company, Aspiration.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer served as a major investor in the company, which paid Leonard $7 million a year to be a brand ambassador for the company for four years. However, as Torre details in his reporting, there's no evidence of Leonard serving as an ambassador for the brand, which has triggered speculation that the deal with Aspiration was a way for the Clippers to circumvent the cap and give Kawhi extra incentives to play with the Clippers.
Torre's reporting triggered an investigation by the NBA, and many in NBA circles believe the Clippers are set to receive a harsh penalty for what occurred, per a report by The Athletic.
“In the weeks leading up to Ballmer’s big bash, there was a significant upswing in league-wide speculation that the NBA’s hammer is likely to fall on the Clippers. This was a noticeable shift from earlier in the season, when so many seemed to believe that the Leonard/Aspiration scandal might come and go without any substantive punishment being handed down,” the report stated.
Adam Silver, during media availability on All-Star weekend, spoke about the incident and the investigation. All-Star weekend was held in Los Angeles at the Intuit Dome, the home arena of the Los Angeles Clippers.
“I haven’t come to any decisions whatsoever yet on the Clippers’ matter. As you know, the league office is not directly running the investigation. That’s being overseen by a law firm, Wachtell, in New York. From everything I’ve been told, the Clippers have been fully cooperative. But as I said, I’m not involved day-to-day in the investigation,” he said.
He then continued, outlining the complexity of the investigation, per the comments secured by The Athletic.
”I think, as I’ve said before, it’s enormously complex. You have a company in bankruptcy (Aspiration, which gave Leonard a no-show endorsement deal that was allegedly facilitated by the Clippers). You have thousands of documents, multiple witnesses that have been needed to be interviewed. I will say, just in case anyone is wondering, the fact that All-Star is here this weekend has had no impact on the timeline of the investigation. Our charge to the Wachtell law firm is (to) do the work and then come back and make recommendations to the league office, and that’s where things now stand.”
Despite the investigation and the early-season woes that saw the team unceremoniously release Chris Paul, the Clippers have been on a roll the past couple of months. They sit at 26-28 and have fought to get back into the playoff picture as a play-in team; they are only one game behind the Portland Trail Blazers, who are currently ninth in the standings.
Leonard has been on a tear, averaging 27.9 points per game, 6.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.1 steals on 49.1% shooting and 91% from the free-throw line. Thus far, he's played 41 games this season—four games more than the 37 he played in the 2024-2025 season. But despite their standout play and increased year-over-year numbers, the Aspiration scandal has still been a major topic around the team, and it could affect the winning push that Los Angeles is embarking on.
The Clippers are set to host the Nuggets tonight at 10:30 p.m. Eastern.
