Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Kawhi Leonard Case: Pablo Torre Drops Another Hammer on Clippers Star and Steve Ballmer with $118 Million Payment Claim

The case came to light when Torre indicated that Kawhi had received approximately $28 million from Aspiration just days earlier.

Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The main story of the NBA offseason, the case of Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers continues to receive new updates. This Thursday, Pablo Torre, responsible for the scoop that led to a league investigation into the player and the franchise, released more information. According to him, Steve Ballmer, owner of the Clippers, made payments to the company Aspiration totaling US$ 118 million between 2021 and 2023.

The journalist also highlighted that in June 2022, a $21 million payment was identified in the name of Dennis Wong, the team’s vice president. Two weeks later, Kawhi received the first installment of the payment for an endorsement deal in which he performed no actions on behalf of the brand.

Torre then pointed out another “coincidence” of dates. On April 4th of that year, the Clippers had deposited approximately US$35.4 million into the company’s accounts. The amount was supposedly for the purchase of “carbon credits,” certificates that prove the reduction of carbon emissions and can be traded. On the same day, Kawhi signed the sponsorship contract through his company, KL2 Aspire.

EXCLUSIVE: Two weeks before Kawhi's first "no-show" payday, the Clippers bailed out Aspiration with a $21M deal signed by the team CFO.

(Yes, @mcuban sent @PabloTorre down this rabbit hole: "He literally described exactly what they did," a source says, "to circumvent the cap.") pic.twitter.com/5lQNMLm8Or
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) September 18, 2025

Also Read: Andrew Wiggins Trade: Miami Heat Take Backstep in Making Trade Discussion with Lakers

Kawhi Leonard and Clippers remain in the NBA’s sights, and pressure is expected to grow

Leonard and Los Angeles have been under investigation by the NBA since September 3rd, amid suspicions that both had orchestrated a scheme to circumvent the association’s salary cap. The case came to light when Torre indicated that Kawhi had received approximately $28 million from Aspiration just days earlier.

Since then, investigations by various media outlets have uncovered a series of developments in the relationship between the player, the company, and the team. Initially, the potential punishments for the Clippers are directly linked to obtaining concrete evidence of Ballmer’s involvement in Aspiration’s payments to Leonard. However, even without concrete evidence, lesser penalties may be imposed due to the substantial nature of the evidence.

Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Kawhi Leonard

NBA 2025-26

Pablo Torre

Gulshan Sharma

nba

soccer

wnba

A native of Jaipur, Rajasthan, journalist, and a complete soccer and basketball fan, he found the huge interest with basketball by watching videos of Allen Iverson and Tony Parker, but fell head over heels in love with the sport during the Warriors’ championship era (2015-2018). A sports game addict since his late PS1, he’s also passionate about the Eagles, Inter Miami and the Fever. He’s fortunate to have seen all his favorite teams win championships. He also has a special love for cricket and football (soccer), where he is a fan of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Barcelona.