Kawhi Leonard Breaks Silence On Los Angeles Clippers, Aspiration Scandal

Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard spoke to reporters on Monday at media day and he was asked several questions about the Aspiration scandal.

Aspiration allegedly paid Leonard $48 million for a “no-show job” intended to circumvent the NBA salary cap.

“I understand the full contract and the services that I had to do,” Kawhi Leonard said. “I don’t deal with the conspiracies or the clickbait analysts or journalism that’s going on.”

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer invested $10 million in Aspiration in March 2023. The billionaire had invested $50 million in Aspiration 18 months prior.

Ballmer introduced Aspiration to Leonard in November 2021, three months after the Clippers had agreed to a four-year, $173 million extension with Leonard. Two months earlier, in September 2021, the Clippers announced a lucrative $300 million partnership with Aspiration.

Aspiration paid Leonard $1.7 million days after Clippers minority owner Dennis J. Wong made an almost $2 million investment in the company. This took place in December 2022.

Leonard also got $20 million in Aspiration shares directly from co-founder Joe Sanberg.

Ballmer and the Clippers invested $118 million in Aspiration in 18 months. LAC’s chief financial officer signed off on a $21 million payment from the team to fund various “carbon projects” for Aspiration in June 2022. The $21 million was enough for Leonard’s first quarterly payment as part of his “no-show” endorsement deal with Aspiration. It also hit Aspiration’s fundraising target.

“The NBA is going to do their job,” Leonard said. “None of us did no wrongdoing. That’s it. We invite the investigations. It’s not going to be a distraction for me or the rest of the team.”

Pablo Torre of Pablo Torre Finds Out broke this story. He recently reported that Ballmer donated $1.875 million to Aspiration 1.5 years after the Clippers deal ended and Leonard was also personally guaranteed another $20 million in Aspiration equity.