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Kawhi Leonard Confirms Aspiration Owed Him Millions of Dollars

Leonard revealed that he may have been owed more than originally reported.
Grant Mona|
Sep 29, 2025; Inglewood, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) poses during media day at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Sep 29, 2025; Inglewood, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) poses during media day at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

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Los Angeles Clippers

Los Angeles Clippers Media Day had a different feel to it in 2025. One year ago, in 2024, the Clippers were without Paul George for the first time in five years, and had a hungry and motivated energy to them as they talked to the media at their brand new arena, Intuit Dome.

This season, while the hunger and want remain the same, there was a cloud being cast over the event due to the ongoing NBA investigation into the Clippers.

In September of 2021, the Clippers announced a substantial 23-year, $300 million partnership with Aspiration, an eco-friendly company. The deal included naming Aspiration as the team's official jersey patch sponsor and focused on sustainability in the environment.

Aspiration began to miss payments as the years went on, and the Clippers ended up terminating their partnership with the company, noting that Aspiration had defaulted on its contractual obligations.

Kawhi Is Still Owed Millions

Amidst the entire investigation into the salary cap circumvention by the Clippers, the controversy is deepened by allegations that Steve Ballmer had personally invested at least $50 million into Aspiration, showing significant payments from the Clippers to the company for carbon credits.

These payments allegedly coincided with the overdue payments to Kawhi Leonard and his camp, although there is no direct connection between the Clippers, Aspiration, and Leonard's payments.

Leonard took the podium at Media Day for the first time since the allegations dropped by Pablo Torre.

Ramona Shelburne of ESPN asked Leonard, "So, you were named as like the largest creditor in that in the bankruptcy filing, right? Did you actually get the money that was owed to you in the contract?"

He responded, "This is all new to you guys. The company went bankrupt a while ago, so we already knew this was going to happen... I'm not sure. I got to look back at the books, but no, it's more than that for sure...it was like two, three, four years ago. "

The Status of the Investigation

The Clippers and Kawhi Leonard have publicly denied any wrongdoing in the allegations against them, and Leonard even stated that the allegations are “clickbait” at the same press conference.

The Clippers themselves have also mentioned that they were victims of Aspiration's fraudulent movement and that their investments and partnerships were business dealings focused on sustainability and carbon credits for their new arena, Intuit Dome.

The NBA's investigation is currently ongoing and is expected to be complete after the All-Star break in February of 2026.

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Grant Mona
GRANT MONA

Grant Mona is a multimedia sports journalist based in Los Angeles, covering multiple teams. He is a co-host and producer on The Sporting Tribune Today on The BET Las Vegas, KIRN 670 in Southern California and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network. He formerly played baseball with the University of the Pacific Tigers.

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