About & methodology
What this is
The Clippers Report is an independent, unofficial project that turns a dense investigative report into something a regular person can read in a few minutes. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the LA Clippers, the NBA, or Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. For the team's official site, visit nba.com/clippers ↗.
The report it covers
The primary source is the Summary Report of Independent Investigators Concerning the LA Clippers and Kawhi Leonard, the public summary report(36 pages) published by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz on September 2, 2026. It is a summary, not the full investigative record. Investigators note they will add to their findings. Always treat the original as the authority.
Download the summary report (PDF) ↗
Sources & how we keep them separate
- Summary Report. Summary Report of Independent Investigators Concerning the LA Clippers and Kawhi Leonard, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, September 2, 2026. This is the PUBLIC SUMMARY report, not the full investigative record. Investigators state it is not an exhaustive recounting of the evidence and that they will supplement their findings as appropriate. Source ↗
- NBA Announcement. NBA announces findings of investigation into LA Clippers, National Basketball Association (NBA), September 2, 2026. The penalties, fines, suspensions and draft-pick forfeitures come from the NBA's announcement, not from the Wachtell Lipton summary report. Source ↗
- Podcast origin. Pablo Torre Finds Out (first episode alleging the scheme), Pablo Torre Finds Out, September 3, 2025. Context/origin only. What this site says about the podcast is drawn from how the Wachtell Lipton summary report (p.2) describes it, and is clearly labelled as origin and context, not as a finding.
Every fact on the site carries a badge showing which source it came from and, for the report, the page number. The timeline shows only what is in the report. Penalties are on a separate page and always attributed to the NBA's announcement. The origin podcast is labelled as context, never as a finding.
How the facts were checked
Being honest about how this was made. An AI model read the report page by page and turned it into the structured data behind this site (people, events, money, quotes). Because AI can make mistakes, a second, separate AI model then independently re-checked every name, date, dollar figure, quote and page citation against the original report. That checker was given no knowledge of how the first model produced the data, so an error could not quietly carry through both steps. It found no factual errors, only a few wording notes that we then fixed.
AI is still not perfect, so we do not ask you to take our word for it. Every fact on the site carries a page number so you can confirm it in the report yourself, quotes are reproduced verbatim (including the report's own bracketed edits and “[sic]”), and if anything looks off please report a correction.
Findings vs. allegations vs. context
Legal reports distinguish carefully between what is found, what is alleged, and background context. So do we. Each item is tagged, and inclusion of any person or company does not imply wrongdoing beyond what the cited source states.
Corrections
Spotted something that doesn't match the source? Corrections are welcome and taken seriously. This site lives or dies on accuracy. (A contact route will be added here.)
Glossary
- Salary cap
- A leaguewide limit on how much each team can pay its players, meant to keep competition balanced. Paying players extra money on the side undermines it.
- Circumvention rules
- CBA rules that broadly bar teams and players from arranging any pay or business opportunity of value to a player outside the standard player contract, including through relatives, agents or affiliates.
- Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)
- The master agreement between the NBA and the players' union (NBPA) that sets the rules for player compensation, including the salary cap and the circumvention rules.
- Uniform Player Contract
- The standard, league-regulated contract a team uses to pay a player. Pay must run through this contract. Value given outside it can break the circumvention rules.
- Endorsement agreement
- A deal where a company pays an athlete to promote it. The report examines deals where companies paid Leonard large sums for little real promotion while also doing business with the Clippers.
- Term sheet
- A document laying out the key terms of a proposed deal before a full contract is written. The report tracks who shaped the Leonard and Aspiration term sheet.
- 'Spend back' / 'business back'
- An arrangement where a company that gets business from a team is expected to send some money back the other way. The report finds this was used to route money toward Leonard's endorsements.
- Founding arena partner / jersey patch
- Premium sponsorships. One is naming and branding rights tied to a team's new arena. The other is a small advertising patch worn on the team's game jersey. Aspiration bought both from the Clippers.
- Free agency
- The period when a player without a contract can sign with any team. Leonard was a marquee free agent in 2019 after winning the title with Toronto.
- NBPA
- The National Basketball Players Association, the players' union. It negotiates the CBA and represented Leonard during the investigation.