Howard has long been a lock to make the Hall of Fame. He was the best defender of his generation, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, an eight-time All-NBA player, and an eight-time All-Star who won an NBA ring in the bubble with the Lakers and averaged 15.7 points and 11.8 rebounds a game.
Dwight Howard: Champion. Defensive anchor. 8x All-Star. And now: Hall of Famer. pic.twitter.com/3yNX0w3Aux
Serbia was the pre-tournament betting favorite to win EuroBasket, and with good reason. Led by the best player on the planet in Nikola Jokic, Serbia was the bronze medal winner at the Paris Olympics a year ago (and pushed the USA hard in the medal round), and it was the silver medalists at the last FIBA World Cup. It felt like their turn.
Serbia is out at EuroBasket in the round of 16, eliminated by Lauri Markkanen and Finland.
Lauri Markkanen shines, Finland advances to the EuroBasket quarterfinals!
Miro Little, who plays his college ball for UC Santa Barbara, had 13 points for Finland in the win, as did Elias Valtonen, who had a clutch 3-pointer over Jokic late. Jokic did his part for Serbia, scoring 33 points with eight rebounds in the game, but Serbia missed the steady hand of Bogdan Bogdanovic (out with a hamstring injury).
• In a Balkan showdown, Lithuania beat Latvia despite 34 points and 19 rebounds from Kristaps Porzingis. Hawks fans should be optimistic about Porzingis' performance in this tournament, and it's not just the points.
• Germany pulled away in the second half and handled Portugal to pick up the 85-58 win. Franz Wagner led a deep and balanced German side with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Celtics center Neemias Queta, about to be thrust into a larger role with the team, looked ready for the part with his play for Portugal at EuroBasket, including having 18 points and 11 rebounds in this game.
As expected, the NBA has hired an outside law firm to investigate whether the Los Angeles Clippers circumvented the salary cap with a "no-show" endorsement deal for Kawhi Leonard by one of the team's sponsors.
The NBA has hired the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, reports Joe Vardon, Sam Amick and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. This is the same law firm that investigated the Donald Sterling situation with the Clippers (which ultimately led to the sale to current owner Steve Ballmer) and investigated reports of a misogynistic workplace under former Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver, who was ultimately suspended by the league for a year and sold the team.
This case, if proven to the satisfaction of the other owners (who will vote on any potential punishment), would not lead to as severe an outcome as the sale of the team (circumventing the salary cap is serious for the NBA, but not on the level of racism and misogyny). However, the list of penalties prescribed in the NBA CBA includes fines up to $7.5 million, the forfeiture of draft picks, and potentially the voiding of the player's contract.
This case resolves around an endorsement deal with a Clippers sponsor unearthed by the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast. The timeline breaks down like this: In September 2021, Ballmer made a $50 million investment in Aspiration, a "green bank" company claiming it was planting trees to gain carbon emissions credits it could pass on to its clients. Later that month, Leonard signed a four-year, $176 million max contract extension with the Clippers. At the Clippers' media day at the end of that same month, Ballmer announced a $300 million partnership and sponsorship with Aspiration that was in part an effort to make the then-under-construction Intuit Dome "green." Not long after, Leonard signed a four-year, $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration. None of that is out of the ordinary (star players signing separate endorsement contracts with team sponsors, with a clause the sponsorship ends if they are traded/leave the team, are relatively common).
Two things make this story take a turn. The big one is that Leonard did nothing for Aspiration, the endorsement was what several Aspiration employees told Torre was a "no-show" job. Leonard never made any public appearances for the company, did not appear in its marketing, nor did he post anything on social media about Aspiration. He got $28 million for doing nothing (Leonards LLC formed for this endorsement is one of the creditors in Aspiration's bankruptcy, as are the Clippers). The other twist is that Aspiration turned out to be a fraudulent company, one that is under federal investigation, filed for bankruptcy, and its CEO pled guilty to defrauding investors of $248 million.
Steve Ballmer and the Clippers have vehemently denied the allegations and said they did nothing wrong. Ballmer said in an interview with ESPN that he was “duped” by Aspiration and its CEO, as were many other wealthy investors and celebrities. The Clippers said this in a statement:
"Neither the Clippers nor Steve Ballmer circumvented the salary cap. The notion that Steve invested in Aspiration in order to funnel money to Kawhi Leonard is absurd. Steve invested because Aspiration's co-founders presented themselves as committed to doing right by their customers while protecting the environment... Neither Steve nor the Clippers had knowledge of any improper activity by Aspiration or its co-founder until after the government initiated its investigation. Aspiration was a team sponsor for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons before defaulting on its contract."
Now it comes down to the Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz investigation and what they find — with the investigation being run by a law firm and reporting to a lawyer himself in NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, the bar for direct, hard evidence will be high. However, there is a flood of circumstantial evidence, and the Clippers or Leonard explaining away a no-show contract will be difficult.
Ultimately, it is the other owners who will decide the punishment for the Clippers and Ballmer, and they want to see this report. The other owners will not want slap on the wrist punishment (like the Knicks got with for tampering with Jalen Brunson) that will signal it is okay to circumvent the cap, but how hard they want to come down on one of their own in a case where he claims plausible deniablity is another question (those owners can think "there but for the grace of God go I"). A lot will come down to what this investigation finds.
Thomas Sorber, the No. 15 pick of the Oklahoma City Thunder in last June's NBA Draft, will miss his entire rookie season after tearing his ACL and needing to undergo surgery, the team announced.
Sorber suffered the injury during a workout in Oklahoma City. He did not play at Summer League this year because he was still recovering from a foot injury that ended his season at Georgetown early.
Sorber averaged 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds a game for the Hoyas during his one season in college. The 6'10" big man would have had a limited role this season on a stacked Oklahoma City team, but this is still a setback in the development of a guy the Thunder are going to lean on for frontcourt minutes in the future.
This is the third time in four years that Oklahoma City's top pick is going to miss his rookie season due to a significant injury. Chet Holmgren missed his rookie season, 2022-23, with a foot injury. Last season, Nikola Topic missed the entire year with an ACL tear similar to Sorbert. Topic recovered and showed some promise playing for the Thunder at Summer League this year.
The two recently met for the first time in person, and they shared a wholesome exchange shared to social media Saturday.
“I like you. We’d never met before last weekend,” Barkley told Kittle, sitting next to his wife Claire in what appears to be a video call. “And you remind me of me when I played basketball. When I watch you play football, I’m like, ‘That dude loves playing football.’ “
“I do,” Kittle replied with a massive grin on his face.
Barkley played in the NBA for 16 seasons on three teams. He was an 11-time NBA All-Star, 11-time All-NBA member and one-time league MVP.
He followed up his already impressive playing career with a jump as one of the most admired and beloved basketball analysts, most notably on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” alongside Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal and Ernie Johnson Jr.
Barkley’s humor and wit have made him one of the best at what he does, and just as he described Kittle on the gridiron, you can see through the TV screen just how much Barkley loves his job now and loved his job when he was on the court.
“The one thing I wanted people to understand [was], man, I loved playing basketball,” Barkley said. “I felt I was so lucky and blessed to do something so stupid for a living. We’re not like teachers. We’re not firemen. We’re not policemen. We’re not somebody in the armed service. I said, dude, we hit the lottery of life. And all you got to do is go out there and bust your hump.
“And when I finally got a chance to meet you last week, I’m like, hey man, I really wanted to meet you this weekend because when I watch you play football, I know you love your job.”
For those watching, it’s quite obvious to see Kittle loves what he does.
And he might love it a whole lot more if the 49ers can bounce back from a down 2024 season and continue their Quest for Six in 2025.
Dylan Harper's NBA career is starting off with a speed bump.
The No. 2 pick in last June's NBA draft underwent surgery Friday to repair a partial tear of the collateral ligament in his left thumb, the team announced. Recovery likely will keep Harper out for all of training camp and the start of the season — his return would be around Halloween, according to the injury database of Jeff Stotts at In Street Clothes.
Dylan Harper Injury Update: According to @ShamsCharania the rookie guard underwent surgery to repair a partially torn ligament in his thumb. This is most commonly the ulnar collateral ligament and average time lost following surgery is 54.3 days.
Harper, the son of five-time NBA champion Ron Harper, was a standout at Rutgers last season where the New Jersey native averaged 19.9 points a game. The Spurs took him with the No. 2 pick in the draft last June, just behind Cooper Flagg but ahead of VJ Edgecombe.
A groin injury kept Harper out at the start of NBA Summer League, but when he did get on the court, he impressed with his athleticism, which included some highlight plays — and not just on the offensive end.
On offense in Las Vegas, Harper more than passed the eye test. He demonstrated impressive control of his pace, using it to get into the lane, and once there, he showed he could finish at the rim with either hand, plus he had a nice little floater. Harper averaged 16 points a game at Summer League, but shot just 35.7%. There is work to do.
Chicago's stumbling point is simple: Just more than a year ago, the Bulls gave an unproven Patrick Williams a five-year, $90 million contract ($18 million a season), based on his potential (the front office really believes in him). So what is a proven scorer and shot creator like Josh Giddey worth to them?
About $22 million a year, ESPN’s Bobby Marks reports. He said Chicago has an offer of four years, $88 million is on the table for Giddey — not that much more than Williams and well below the closer to $30 million a season Giddey is reportedly looking to make. That $88 million number is up slightly but largely in line with previous reporting of the Bulls offering around $20 million a season for the 6'8" point guard.
Giddey has yet to accept the Bulls' offer, with an Oct. 1 deadline looming in the distance for him to pick up the one-year, $11.1 million qualifying offer, play out this season in Chicago, and become a free agent next summer (the path Brooklyn’s Cam Thomas has already taken).
Giddey believes he should be paid in the Derrick White and Tyler Herro range of around $30 million a season. His case is based on how he played after the All-Star break last season, when he averaged 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists a game for a Bulls team that went 17-10 in that stretch. The Bulls may not be as convinced by that stretch of play, and in the bigger picture, they are trying to clean up their books and gain flexibility. While Giddey knows how to run their offense, he is not a great defender and needs to show his hot shooting from 3-point range after the All-Star break last season (45.7%) was not a fluke (he is a career 33% shooter from deep).
The other question Giddey and his representatives need to ask themselves: Will the money he wants be available next summer? While there are expected to be up to 10 NBA teams with considerable cap space, are they going to want to spend a lot of that on Giddey? His perception in league circles is that of a good player but not a contending team franchise cornerstone, more of an 82-game player than a 16-game player. If Giddey were to take the qualifying offer, he would have a season to prove his doubters wrong with his play.
Most likely, both Giddey and the Bulls will compromise as we get closer to training camp. Neither side wants to go the qualifying offer route, but the Bulls have all the leverage in these talks while Giddey just has the one card to play. The closer we get to Oct. 1 without a deal, the more realistic that option becomes.
The Los Angeles Clippers take on the Denver Nuggets in an NBA playoff game in April at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
More details are emerging about a company that allegedly paid Clippers star Kawhi Leonard millions, including that the team came close in 2021 to granting naming rights for its Inglewood arena to Aspiration Partners.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer nearly granted naming rights to the company, but ended up choosing financial services firm Intuit to grace the $2-billion venue, a source familiar with the matter said. Intuit, which has a $186-billion net worth and developed TurboTax, Credit Karma and QuickBooks, ended up paying a reported $500 million over 23 years for the naming rights. The source requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Four years later, Aspiration, a sustainability firm that also generated and sold carbon credits, is out of business. Co-founder Joseph Sanberg has agreed to plead guilty to defrauding multiple investors and lenders. Listed among creditors in Aspiration's bankruptcy documents is Leonard, raising questions about whether his $28-million endorsement deal with the company skirted NBA salary cap rules.
One of the investors Sanberg defrauded was Ballmer, listed by Fortune magazine as the sixth-richest person in the world, with a net worth of $157 billion. The Clippers owner invested $50 million in Aspiration, which in turn entered into a $330-million sponsorship agreement with the team.
This week, the Athletic reported allegations that Aspiration agreed to pay Leonard $28 million for a job with no responsibilities. Anonymous sources quoted by the outlet said the payment was an effort to circumvent the NBA salary cap.
Ballmer was interviewed Thursday night by ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and denied involvement in Leonard's deal with Aspiration, but the NBA has launched an investigation.
Ballmer said he was "conned" by the company and that the Clippers did not circumvent NBA salary cap rules, which the team was accused of doing in a podcast report by Pablo Torre of the Athletic.
A plane flies over the Intuit Dome in Inglewood. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Ballmer told Shelburne that Aspiration offered more than Intuit for dome naming rights, and a Clippers spokesman confirmed that account. However, Ballmer insisted that the Clippers did not violate NBA rules against skirting the salary cap, and the team had agreed to a contract extension with Leonard and the sponsorship deal with Aspiration before the player and the company met.
"We were done with Kawhi, we were done with Aspiration," Ballmer said. "The deals were all locked and loaded. Then, they did request to be introduced to Kawhi, and under the rules, we can introduce our sponsors to our athletes. We just can't be involved."
The Clippers signed Leonard to a four-year, $176-million contract in August 2021 even though he was recovering from a partially torn ACL in his right knee that kept him sidelined the entire 2021-22 season. Ballmer said the sponsorship deal with Aspiration was completed in September 2021 and that the Clippers introduced Leonard to Aspiration two months later.
"As part of our cooperation with the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission, we produced texts and emails," Ballmer said. "It was part of the document production in their investigation. We even found the email that made the first introduction [between Aspiration and Leonard]. It was early in November.
"Where could any of this circumvention happened? It couldn’t have, it didn’t. The introduction got made and they were off to the races on their own. We weren’t involved."
The Boston Sports Journal reported that Leonard did not appear in promotional material as other endorsers did because Aspiration executives "saw no brand synergy with Leonard and chose not to use his services. They instead preferred to partner with climate-focused influencers."
Ballmer couldn't explain why Leonard did no marketing or endorsement work for Aspiration, telling Shelburne that he never spoke with the player about his deal with the company.
"I don’t know why they did what they did and I don’t know how different it is, I really don’t," he said. "And, frankly, any speculation would be crazy. These were guys who committed fraud. Look, they conned me. I made an investment in these guys thinking it was on the up-and-up and they conned me. At this stage, I have no ability to predict why they did anything they did."
The salary cap is a dollar amount that limits what teams can spend on player payroll. The purpose of the cap is to ensure parity, preventing the wealthiest teams from outspending smaller markets to acquire the best players.
Circumventing the cap by paying a player outside of his contract is strictly prohibited. Teams that exceed the cap must pay luxury tax penalties that grow increasingly severe. Revenues from the tax penalties are then distributed in part to smaller-market teams and in part to teams that do not exceed the salary cap.
The NBA said it will investigate the allegations laid out by Torre. Ballmer said he welcomes the probe. If allegations were made against a team other than the Clippers, "I’d want the league to investigate, to take it seriously," he said.
"We know the rules, and if anything is not clear, we remind ourselves what the rules are. And we make it absolutely clear we will abide by those rules."
The cap was implemented before the 1984-85 season at a mere $3.6 million. Ten years later, it was $15.9 million, and 10 years after that it had risen to $43.9 million. By the 2014-15 season it was $63.1 million.
The biggest spike came before the 2016-2017 season when it jumped to $94 million because of an influx of revenue from a new nine-year, $24-billion media rights deal with ESPN and TNT.
Salary cap rules negotiated between the NBA and the players’ union are spelled out in the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Proven incidents of teams circumventing the cap are few, with a violation by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2000 serving as the most egregious.
The Timberwolves made a secret agreement with free agent and former No. 1 overall draft pick Joe Smith, signing him to a succession of below-market one-year deals in order to enable the team to go over the cap with a huge contract ahead of the 2001-02 season.
The NBA voided his contract, fined the Timberwolves $3.5 million, and stripped them of five first-round draft picks — two of which were later returned. Also, owner Glen Taylor and general manager Kevin McHale were suspended.
Then-NBA commissioner David Stern told the Minnesota Star Tribune at the time: “What was done here was a fraud of major proportions. There were no fewer than five undisclosed contracts tightly tucked away, in the hope that they would never see the light of day. … The magnitude of this offense was shocking.”
According to Article 13 of the CBA, if the Clippers were found to have circumvented the cap, it would be a first offense punishable by a $4.5-million fine, the loss of one first-round draft pick, and voiding of Leonard’s contract. However, the Clippers don’t have a first-round pick until 2027.
Group play is over and EuroBasket is down to the 16-team knockout rounds — and right out of the gate we get a showdown of two All-Star NBA big men.
Nikola Jokic and pre-tournament favorite Serbia will take on Lauri Markkanen and Finland in a win-or-go-home game on Saturday. Here is everything you need to know about how to watch that game.
EuroBasket 2025: Serbia vs. Finland: How To Watch
Serbia vs. Latvia tips off Saturday, Aug. 31 at 2:45 PM ET (9:45 PM local time where the game is played in Riga, Latvia).
In the United States, games can be streamed on Courtside 1891, FIBA's official streaming platform. All EuroBasket games can also be viewed through DAZN on the Courtside app.
Jokic vs. Markkanen
Markkanen, who missed considerable time in Utah last season with injuries, has looked healthy and impressive at EuroBasket — he is third in the tournament in scoring, averaging 25.4 points a game. He is doing all that while opposing teams have him at the top of the scouting report, not fearing anyone else on Finland to beat them.
Jokic has looked like, well, Jokic — the best player in the world. He is averaging 20.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists a game for a 4-1 Serbian squad (their lone loss was to Alperen Sengun and an impressive Türkiye side).
Whatever happens with the NBA big men, Serbia is a heavy favorite in this game (-16.5 points on the betting line) because of the depth of its roster. Serbia features NBA players Nikola Jovic (Heat), Nikola Topic (Thunder) and Tristan Vukcevic (Wizards). They also have former NBA players Vasilije Micic, Filip Petrusev, and Alen Smailagic. Finland has Miro Little, who plays his college ball for UC Santa Barbara, as well as Olivier Nkamhoua, who played at Tennessee and Michigan in college and now plays professionally in Italy.
Bogdan Bogdanovic of the Clippers, who was the Serbian team captain and a key part of their team, is out for the tournament with a hamstring injury.
In his first public comments since allegations broke that the Clippers circumvented the salary cap to get more money to Kawhi Leonard through an endorsement deal with a fraudulent company, team owner Steve Ballmer defended himself and the organization as innocent, saying that they were victims of scammers, like many other investors.
During a 16-minute interview with ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Ballmer said that while the Clippers made the introduction of Leonard to team sponsor Aspiration — a "green bank" company dealing in carbon emission credits that eventually went bankrupt, and its CEO admitted to $248 million in fraud — neither he nor the team had any idea what endorsement deal Leonard had with the company. Ballmer said he was one of the many investors scammed by the company, and that his $50 million investment in it gave him less than 3% of Aspiration, and he had no board seat or control.
"These are guys who committed fraud. How would I be able — look, they conned me. They conned me. I made an investment in these guys, thinking it was on the up and up, and they conned me. At this stage, I have no ability to predict why they might have done anything they did, let alone the specific contract with Kawhi."
An explosive bit of reporting bythe Pablo Torre Finds Out (PTFO) podcast linked Ballmer's $50 million investment in Aspiration to a $28 million "no-show" endorsement contract Leonard got from the company, one where he literally did nothing to promote Aspiration in any form (there is no public record of him doing anything). Multiple Aspiration employees told PTFO that they were instructed not to question the Leonard endorsement deal, which existed to help the Clippers circumvent the salary cap.
Reporting by John Karalis of the Boston Sports Journal found Leonard later had a second deal with Aspiration for $20 million in stock options. While those stock options ultimately turned out to be worthless, at the time that would have brought Leonard's endorsement compensation up to $48 million, close to how much Ballmer invested in Aspiration.
Ballmer made his case that he and the Clippers knew nothing about the relationship and contract details between Leonard and Aspiration, and they were not trying to circumvent the salary cap. Through their public statements and this interview, the Clippers have pushed back on the allegations and said they thought they had a deal with a legit green company — the Clippers and Aspiration had a $300 million partnership tied to making the then-under-construction Intuit Dome carbon neutral — and that they broke off that deal in 2023 when Aspiration didn't live up to the contract. That was it. Ballmer said the company duped him and that neither he nor the Clippers knew any details about Leonard and his endorsement deal.
Ballmer said he welcomed the NBA's investigation, adding that the Clippers have nothing to hide and will fully cooperate.
"I'd want the league to investigate, take it seriously.... Salary cap circumvention rules are important to the league, and I'd want the league to investigate," Ballmer said.
While there may be no "smoking gun" email or direct evidence that Ballmer or anyone with the Clippers knew Leonard's endorsement deal with Aspiration was a sham — there was that paper trail with the last serious cap circumvention case in the NBA, in 2000 with the Timberwolves and free agent Joe Smith — there is a tsunami of circumstantial evidence and coincidences that are hard to explain away.
While Ballmer answered questions on Thursday by a seasoned reporter in Shelburne, he and his public relations team made a massive mistake in not responding to PTFO initially when it asked for comments on the allegations before they aired.
"So the minute Aspiration was under investigation, I guarantee you, in the immortal words of Charles Barkley, I guarantee it that the NBA took a hard look at it. And not only that, that Ballmer, if he did something illicit and under the table and tried to, you know, um, work around the salary cap, then he's got to be s******* bricks, right? Because at that point in time, he's the dumbest human being on the planet because he trusted these scammers to do something he knew was against all NBA rules. A) I just don't see that happening. B), the NBA would have found it easily. Three, and this alludes to the Steve Balmer can't be that dumb thing. I've been scammed. Everybody's scammable but in order for this to work, in my opinion, he has to trust that whole company. And at that point in time he trusted them enough to give them an investment at some level. But I don't see how he would trust that company to keep probably his darkest secret as an NBA owner so that it wouldn't get out. I just don't see in any way, shape, or form that all those things could happen."
Pablo Torre responded that he was on team s****** bricks — and that's where a lot of fans and people around the league are, as well.
The NBA investigation into the case is underway. The NBA's Board of Governors — the 30 NBA owners — meet next week in New York and this will be the hot topic. It already is around the league, as is what punishments the Clippers will ultimately face in this case.
Electronic Arts’ plans for a full-fledged college basketball video game have been shelved, the company has reportedly told schools, in part because rival publisher 2K Sports is building its own CBB offering, though it remains unclear whether that product would be built into 2K’s NBA game or released as a standalone title. Following the success …
The NBA is investigating whether the Los Angeles Clippers circumvented the salary cap by having Kawhi Leonard sign an endorsement deal with sustainability services company Aspiration, and there are intriguing legal and business considerations.
The controversy surfaced in a report on Wednesday by journalist and podcaster Pable Torre of Pablo Torre Finds Out.
Leonard signed a three-year, $103 million deal with the Clippers as a free agent in 2019. Two years later he exercised an opt-out option and signed a four-year, $176.3 million maximum contract—which could become an important point in the legal analysis—to stay with Los Angeles. That same year the Clippers and Aspiration signed deals that contemplated a $300 million partnership for Aspiration to sponsor the Clippers’ arena and the team’s jersey patch. Ballmer was one of Aspiration’s funders, reportedly investing $50 million.
Through his limited liability company, KL2 Aspire, Leonard agreed to a four-year, $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration in 2022. Torre reports that Leonard was apparently not obligated to perform actions for payment and that the endorsement deal would end if Leonard was traded.
In a statement, the Clippers refute that they tried to circumvent the cap. The team says they ended their relationship with Aspiration during the 2022-2023 season when Aspiration defaulted on obligations. According to a bankruptcy court filing dated March 31, Aspiration owes the Clippers and KL2 Aspire $30.1 million and $7 million, respectively. The list of creditors also includes the Boston Red Sox, who are listed as being owed $5 million.
Leonard’s situation bears some resemblance to a recent dynamic in college sports, when some so-called “NIL collectives” pay recruits to attend and remain at a college. That type of compensation is not reflective of NIL, which is intended to resemble an endorsement deal. An NIL and endorsement deal captures the use of an athlete’s right of publicity, a legal right that ensures compensation for use of a person’s identifying traits. Some NIL collectives’ payments are instead more akin to pay-for-play, which is prohibited by NCAA rules. The House settlement features a clearinghouse, NIL Go, that reviews NIL deals to ensure they are compliant with pay-for-play rules.
The NBA’s investigation will center on Article XIII of the CBA. This provision prohibits salary-cap circumvention, meaning arrangements by teams to compensate players outside of their employment contracts.
The basic logic of Article XIII is to promote fair play among the 30 teams and prevent teams from cheating. To that end, Article XIII forbids teams from signing side deals with players, such as paying a player to serve as a scout, business partner, endorser or some other position.
The most infamous example of an Article XIII violation is when the Minnesota Timberwolves signed free agent forward Joe Smith to a one-year, $1.8 million deal on Jan. 22, 1999, which was two days after the NBA and NBPA ended their lockout. The contract was surprising since Smith, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft, was expected to land a more lucrative deal. The 23-year-old had earned $3.2 million in the previous season when he averaged 15 points and six rebounds a game.
Eyebrows were raised once again a year later when Smith, who averaged 14 points and eight rebounds a game for the Timberwolves, signed a one-year, $2.2 million deal to stay in Minnesota. An NBA investigation discovered that Minnesota, which used the extra cap space to sign other players, had plotted with Smith and his representatives. The team agreed to later sign Smith to a long-term, lucrative deal after they acquired “Larry Bird rights,” which let a team go over the cap to keep a player. NBA commissioner David Stern denounced the scheme as undermining fair play and furnishing the Timberwolves an unfair advantage over other teams. Stern ordered the forfeiture of five first-round picks and a $3.5 million fine.
Leonard’s situation is clearly different in ways that could favor the Clippers. For one, Leonard signed a max contract—unlike with Smith and the Timberwolves, there’s no claim Leonard and the Clippers plotted a scheme where he’d be paid less in the short term in exchange for being paid more later. For another, the Leonard situation involves a separate, non-Clippers company, Aspiration, that would be the wrongful payer; with Smith, the Timberwolves were the payer.
It’s also worth considering how the language of Article 13 applies. Section 1 indicates the NBA can infer a prohibited agreement when two conditions are met: The endorsement compensation exceeds fair market value for services rendered, and the team’s compensation to the player in his NBA contract is “substantially below the fair market value” of the contract.
As to the first condition, if Leonard was paid without an expectation of performing any services, the compensation would have exceeded fair market value; Leonard being paid to do nothing would resemble pay-for-play or a “fake” NIL deal.
But if it turns out Leonard performed services, or offered to perform services, the analysis will shift since he would have fulfilled his contractual obligations. Another factor is whether Aspiration’s financial problems played a role in demanding, or not demanding, Leonard to perform services. If Aspiration was in turmoil, it might not have prioritized the use of celebrity endorsers. Whether the company had other endorsers and used them during this time would be a useful point of analysis.
As to the second condition, Leonard signed a max contract with the Clippers. The contract would not have been “substantially below” fair market value, since it paid him the most he could have earned.
Section 2 of Article 13 is also relevant. It prohibits unauthorized agreements, which includes arrangements between a player and a team or team affiliate in which the player receives compensation. If the Clippers and Aspiration agreed that Aspiration would pay Leonard a side deal to further the Clippers’ employment relationship with Leonard, Section 2 would be a problem for the Clippers. But if the evidence shows Aspiration merely wanted to pay Leonard to get his endorsement, a conspiracy theory involving Ballmer and the Clippers would take a hit.
Ballmer’s relationship with Aspiration is a relevant factor. Ballmer reportedly invested $50 million in the company. It’s unclear, however, whether he was more of a passive investor or played a meaningful role in the company’s operations, or something in between. It’s also unclear how many investors there are in addition to Ballmer and and the amount of their relative contributions.
A team’s sponsors signing endorsement deals with that team’s players is not necessarily problematic. For example, the Red Sox have a longstanding relationship with Sam Adams, a beer company that has partnered with Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman on the release of Bregman’s Beer. Also, when Michael Jordan owned the Charlotte Hornets, a number of Hornets players, including Kemba Walker and Cody Zeller, had deals with Nike’s Jordan Brand. So long as there is separation between the team and the endorsing company, it’s generally OK.
Another practical consideration is the increasing role of private equity in the NBA and, more generally, pro sports.
The NBA, NHL, MLB and MLS all allow for up to 30% of franchises to be owned by private equity; the NFL permits up to 10%. While each team has a controlling owner, that same team could have many minority owners, some of whom may have investments in companies that could sign endorsement deals with athletes. It’s a complicated fact pattern, and leagues need to be reasonable in policing player endorsement deals that are indirectly, with several degrees of separation, tied to an owner. To that point, players’ associations will remind leagues that their union members have broad rights in signing endorsement deals that can’t be curtailed absent collectively bargained changes.
The NBA’s investigation into Leonard and the Clippers will rely on the league’s extensive expertise in probing controversies. Many of the league’s top officials, including commissioner Adam Silver and executives Rick Buchanan, Dan Rube and Dan Spillane, are seasoned attorneys. They have the power to require Ballmer and Clippers officials to answer questions and share relevant evidence, including emails and texts.
At the same time, the league is a private entity; it lacks subpoena powers and can’t compel testimony or cooperation from persons outside of the league. That is true of Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sandberg, who last month agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud and who federal prosecutors say used his position “to deceive investors and lenders for his own benefit, causing his victims over $248 million in losses.”
Even if Sandberg cooperates and shares relevant information, his admitted misconduct will raise questions about his credibility and whether his cooperation might be intended to portray himself in a more favorable light before a judge sentences him.
Don’t expect the NBA to rush to a conclusion, either. This is a multilayered fact pattern that won’t be an investigatory slam dunk.
It’s hard not to notice when Jayson Tatum enters a room.
Just ask Jordan Walsh, who’s seen plenty of his Boston Celtics teammate this summer — even as Tatum recovers from a ruptured Achilles he suffered during the second round of the playoffs back in May.
“The energy in the gym changes when he walks through,” Walsh told Celtics Insider Chris Forsberg on the latest episode of the Celtics Talk Podcast. “He’s not the most vocal guy, but he’s more of a silent leader.
“Him and JB (Jaylen Brown) are more silent leaders. So, when they step in the gym, you can feel the energy shift. You can feel the attention going to them.”
🔊 Celtics Talk Podcast: Jordan Walsh on ‘dog fight’ Celtics workouts & how the energy changes when Tatum is in the gym | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
According to Walsh, Tatum has been shifting that energy on a regular basis, routinely showing up at the team’s practice facility throughout the summer to grind through rehab workouts. The third-year forward has noticed a significant improvement in Tatum’s mobility as a result of those workouts.
“We’ve seen him so often,” Walsh said. “I’ve seen him from when he messed up his Achilles to now, and it’s a big difference. He’s moving around way better. So, he’s progressing well. I’m definitely happy to see him getting back healthy.”
“To see him in the gym definitely sets a precedent for everybody else,” Walsh added. “If a guy is hurt and trying to get back, then you can do the same thing. Like, you’re perfectly healthy, you should be doing the same thing.”
Tatum’s progress is undoubtedly encouraging. But even if he’s ready to play by late February or early March (about nine to 10 months after his surgery), it’s still possible the Celtics keep him out or slow-play his return to ensure he’s 100 percent healthy for the 2026-27 campaign, instead of rushing him back amid a season with lower expectations.
Either way, younger players like Walsh, second-year wing Baylor Scheierman and rookie Hugo Gonzalez will have opportunity for larger roles while Tatum is sidelined. And it sounds like there’s already a fierce competition playing out for those minutes on the Celtics’ practice courts.
“The energy is already different. You can feel it,” Walsh said. “It’s kind of like, everybody’s trying to find their footing. Everybody’s trying to make their way, because it’s a bunch of young guys who are not necessarily proven. It’s a lot of potential and unproven talent that’s on the team.
“You can feel it in every workout where everybody is going at each other’s necks. Everybody’s trying to earn that spot, earn that playing time, earn that position. So, it’s like a dog fight right now.”
Check out Walsh’s full interview with Forsberg on the latest Celtics Talk Podcast:
Expectations for the Boston Celtics’ 2025-26 season have been tempered so greatly by the offseason roster changes that we’d go so far as to suggest it’s nearly impossible for this team to fall short of expectations.
If the Celtics thrive behind the remaining core members of the championship squad and get increased contributions from the younger players who are about to step into larger roles, the season will be deemed a success. If things go awry and the team is forced to prioritize longer-term goals while also emerging with a decent draft pick, the season likewise could be viewed as a success.
In our mind, multiple things would have to occur to even ponder if the team fell short of expectations:
Jayson Tatum endures any sort of setback in his recovery that hinders his ability to be at full strength for the start of the 2026-27 season.
Younger players on the roster show limited signs of development, leaving the team uncertain on exactly who might comprise the depth pieces on Boston’s next title-contending team.
Remaining core players struggle in increased roles and don’t make the sort of progress that could accelerate Boston’s return to contender status.
It’s hard for us to envision any of these options happening. Tatum has aggressively attacked his rehab, and his progress will serve as a perpetual reminder that brighter days are ahead, regardless of how the team fares in his absence. Younger players have expressed excitement in being able to show what they are capable of this season and we expect every roster player will embrace increased opportunity this season.
The Celtics already extended Joe Mazzulla, giving him the security to endure any bumps in the road. New ownership seems committed to keeping much of the brain trust of this organization in place, which should help the team navigate this mini-transition period as well.
We’re strangely invigorated to watch how the season unfolds without the stress of championship-or-bust expectations. While we’ve been spoiled by the success of this team, we suspect fans will embrace a group that tries to mask a talent drain by playing harder and faster.
We’ll see how the Celtics navigate periods of turbulence and whether that changes how we view the season. The margin for success is razor-thin given the absence of Tatum and the depth depletion. But we suspect it will be very hard for this team to fall short of expectations. Questions will be answered, paths will be charted. And then expectations for future seasons can start to climb.
Now it’s our panel’s turn to finish the sentence. The Celtics will fall short of expectations this season if …
Darren Hartwell, Managing Editor
Any starter misses any significant time due to injury.
If Jaylen Brown goes down, you’re looking at Baylor Scheierman playing meaningful minutes. If Derrick White or Payton Pritchard are sidelined, Hugo Gonzalez may need to take on a larger role.
Boston’s top five by itself stacks up favorably with the rest of the league, but there’s not much depth behind that group, which means the margin for error is razor-thin.
Michael Hurley, Web Producer
If we’re looking at Tankathon in March, then that’ll be disappointing.
With Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, the Celtics shouldn’t be worse than a .500 team. There are some holes on the roster, but they should still be better than your Wizards and Hornets of the world. And last year, a .500 season was good enough to nab the seventh seed in the East.
A 41-41 season is nothing to get too jazzed up about in Boston, but the floor for 2025-26 — even without Tatum — shouldn’t be much lower than that.
Sean McGuire, Web Producer
They miss the playoffs.
I don’t think we should expect to be looking at NBA Draft Lottery odds in late-February or early March, although AJ Dybantsa teaming up with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in 2026-27 would be pretty sweet. Still, are there really eight Eastern Conference teams with more talent or winning pedigree than Joe Mazzulla’s side? I have a hard time believing that.
There’s something to be said about continuing the longest active postseason run in the NBA (11 consecutive seasons).
Josh Canu, Media Editor
Jaylen Brown or Derrick White miss significant time.
The roster is as thin as it has ever been, and if one of your top two dogs go down with injury, it could get ugly quickly. White has proven to be an ironman, but Jaylen stepping into the Tatum role for the entire season does have me a little concerned with his durability.
Max Lederman, Content Producer
You set the expectations too high!
This is a unique season for the Celtics and their fans, so I implore you to just have fun watching basketball and focus on any positives you can find.
Kevin Miller, VP, Content
Turnovers and lack of rebounding.
I’m concerned about giving up a bunch of second-chance points and having some live-ball turnover moments that could change wins to losses.
Adam Hart, EP, Content Strategy
Neemias Queta and Chris Boucher are overmatched upfront.
Jayson Tatum’s rebounding and length defending is gone and the team must find ways to mask that.
In one of my earlier attempts at playing NBA 2K26, I noticed how red Luka Dončić’s face was. The sweat was visible, as if he were playing an actual basketball game.
Very realistic, very detailed. The kind of details those who grew up in the ’80s playing games like Double Dribble may have once envisioned on their screens. The enhanced visuals are just a sample of a new gaming experience.
All versions of 2K26 are available for purchase Friday. Those who bought the “Superstar” or “Leave No Doubt” deluxe editions were able to access the game on Aug. 29. Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is this year’s cover athlete on the game’s Standard Edition. Chicago Sky star Angel Reese is the on the cover of the WNBA Edition.
Carmelo Anthony, who will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, is the cover athlete for the Superstar Edition, an exclusive that includes 100,000 virtual currency (VC), a digital form of currency used to purchase upgrades within the game. All three athletes made the cover of the Leave No Doubt Edition, a special release that includes everything in the Superstar Edition plus an additional 35,000 VC.
Developed by Visual Concepts, 2K26 picks up with enhancements in the realism of the gameplay from 2K25. The defensive improvements I liked from last year’s game are better and individualized. Alex Caruso’s on-ball defense, for example, doesn’t resemble Lu Dort’s defensive tendencies. The overall movement looks and feels better, but the on-ball defense and ability to contest shots are two of the more noticeable improvements 2K focused on this year — the two that I liked most.
The changes in this year’s version of the game aren’t drastic, but they are detectable enough to offer a new experience for those who enjoy the 2K franchise.
Gameplay
The individuality added to player movements has improved from last year with the ProPlay system that takes players’ moves and tendencies and incorporates them into the game. Some of this is best seen with some of the NBA legends. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s skyhook looks as authentic as ever, as does Hakeem Olajuwon’s “Dream Shake.” Players can control these individualized post moves.
The continued tweaks in this area make the game less robotic. Players can also decelerate on their Euro step, meaning players like Gilgeous-Alexander have more control of how they draw fouls.
The movement on defense is much better, and physical defenders can use their bodies more realistically. The drive-and-kick game was also a lot of fun. Improved artificial intelligence makes how defenses and offenses react on drives to the basket feel more realistic. Shooters are able to find their spots for corner 3s, and when players like Gilgeous-Alexander or Dončić drive, multiple defenders flood the paint.
“The drive-and-kick game was a pretty big objective for the AI team this year, in this new drive-and-kick intelligence module, as we call it,” Visual Concepts game director Mike Wang said. “Trying to model that the right players get into the lane, you know, you have to collapse, or they’re going to kill you inside. Those same players usually have great court vision; they’re finding spot-up shooters and perimeter (shooters), so, just trying to model that behavior.”
The feel of the WNBA game is different from the NBA game. The timing is different around the rim, but it was fun playing with a different style and pace. The shooting from the perimeter is the same, but you’ll need to be skilled when getting shots off in the paint.
Shooting
The shooting meter with timing based on landing in a green shot window is another feature that adds realism to 2K26. “Green or Miss” returns.
There was a time in basketball video games when any shot near the rim was nearly guaranteed to be a make. Those attempts no longer automatic scores. Additionally, higher-difficulty shots are tougher to make, as the timing and defense on perimeter shooting is better. Those who master playing defense will notice improved gameplay that helps make shooting more challenging.
Closeouts are better, but gamers can counter that. Shots can be rushed, but catch-and-shoot situations have gameplay options to where shooting is more in control of the gamer and does not feel left up to chance.
“The main goal there was just to make sure that the results of what happens in the court is up to the gamer,” Wang said. “If you take good shots, and you take shots with the right players with higher attributes, and you master timing, then you’ll be effective.
“That was one of the main goals with the green window in general. Take away any kind of randomness or anything that would hold people back from being able to put up some crazy numbers if they were really good at it.”
Game modes
The biggest change to the MyTeam mode is having men and women on the same team. Shaquille O’Neal can have Angel Reese as a teammate. One popular combination is expected to be Stephen Curry and Caitlin Clark. The mode also includes WNBA legends like Lisa Leslie, so there is a good mix of players to use. It’s a fun mode.
MyPlayer adds some variety with certain layup styles and different ways to build your player. You can model your player after a current player using the new “Build by Badges” tool, which allows gamers to form a player based on specific attributes in addition to build specialization that allows players to focus on finishing, shooting, playmaking, defense or rebounding as individual areas to improve.
The City mode has been updated, as well. I also enjoyed the MyNBA Eras, which allows gamers to use teams from different NBA periods — including the early 1980s (the Magic Johnson/Larry Bird era) and stops through the days of prime Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Curry — in today’s game.
Conclusion
I was so impressed with last year’s improvements that my expectations for 2K26 were tame. However, I came away enjoying this version much more than last year’s.
The realism of player movement, AI improvements and the modes creating NBA/WNBA combinations were good. The gameplay for the WNBA is realistic. It doesn’t play just like the NBA game, nor should it. If you liked 2K25, you’ll enjoy this year’s version of the game.
In one of my earlier attempts at playing NBA 2K26, I noticed how red Luka Dončić’s face was. The sweat was visible, as if he were playing an actual basketball game.