Owner Steve Ballmer of the Los Angeles Clippers looks on during the game against the Detroit Pistons at Intuit Dome on Dec. 28, 2025 in Inglewood, California.
Katelyn Mulcahy | Getty Images
The NBA on Wednesday said it had suspended Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer for one year as part of a broad array of sanctions on the basketball team and its executives for violating the league’s salary cap circumvention rules related to star player Kawhi Leonard.
“The NBA’s collectively bargained system for determining player compensation is a fundamental component of the basketball competition that the league oversees for the benefit of the teams and players and ultimately the fans,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
“I am deeply disappointed by the flagrant violations of our rules and by the Clippers’ institutional and leadership failures that led to this misconduct. The severity of the penalties reflects the seriousness of the…
