NBA hits billionaire Clippers owner Steve Ballmer with sweeping punishment

The NBA punished Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer by taking away his authority for an entire season. The league also imposed sweeping sanctions on the franchise after concluding that irregular payments helped the team bypass the salary cap in its dealings with Kawhi Leonard.

Ballmer, whose fortune Forbes estimates at about $150 billion, must pay a $30 million fine. The league suspended Gillian Zucker, the Clippers’ president of business operations, and Lawrence Frank, the president of basketball operations, for six months each.

The sanctions also strip the Clippers of their first five draft selections from 2029 through 2033. Leonard must pay $700,000, and his proposed transaction to the Toronto Raptors has been suspended. Dennis Robertson, Leonard’s representative, cannot work in the NBA for five years.

The case centers on a reported $28 million payment connected to Leonard’s contract. The Clippers allegedly used a route outside NBA rules, with team sponsor Aspiration paying the player as a brand leader. Journalist Pablo Torre reported the information in September 2025, after which the league investigated and imposed its penalties.

Ballmer acquired the Clippers in 2014 after leaving Microsoft. Under his ownership, the team’s value rose from $2 billion to more than $6 billion, and the franchise built the 18,000-seat Intuit Dome to establish its own home after sharing the Crypto.com Arena with the Lakers. The article presents the punishment as a warning that the league’s rules apply even to its wealthiest owners.