NBA fines LA Clippers record $30m over Kawhi Leonard case

The NBA has fined the LA Clippers $30 million after concluding that the franchise violated salary rules in matters connected to Kawhi Leonard. BBC Sport reported that the penalty is the largest fine in league history and stems from the NBA's finding that the team knowingly tried to help Leonard secure income away from basketball.

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The sanctions extend well beyond the financial penalty. The Clippers must forfeit five first-round draft picks covering the years from 2029 through 2033. Team owner Steve Ballmer has also been suspended from all NBA and Clippers activities for 12 months because of his role in issues involving Leonard's sponsorship agreements during the player's time with the organization.

According to the NBA report cited by BBC Sport, Leonard pressed the Clippers to obtain off-court earning opportunities and the team succeeded in arranging them. The league said a month-long investigation uncovered a pattern of misconduct and several significant violations by an organization it described as a previous offender of rules designed to prevent salary-cap circumvention.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he was deeply disappointed by what the league determined were flagrant breaches of its rules. He said the severity of the punishment reflected the seriousness of the conduct. The NBA also fined Leonard $700,000, adding an individual sanction to the penalties imposed on the franchise and its owner.

Leonard said on Instagram that he accepted full responsibility and regretted the distraction caused to supporters and his family. He maintained that he entered both his Clippers contract and the related agreements in good faith, was committed to meeting his obligations and did not know of any intention by another party to work around the salary cap.

The two-time NBA champion and two-time NBA Finals MVP joined the Clippers in 2019 and spent seven years with the franchise before leaving earlier in 2026, according to BBC Sport. The league said the Clippers organization and its personnel will now be placed under an NBA-supervised compliance and monitoring program for five years, ensuring that the consequences of the investigation will continue well beyond Ballmer's suspension.