Aspiration, the company at the center of an NBA investigation into whether the Los Angeles Clippers circumvented the salary cap with improper payments to Kawhi Leonard, reportedly had several big-name investors before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March.

A climate company was struggling to pay Kawhi Leonard. Then, a Clippers minority owner invested $2 million, according to a new report.

Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer made a second investment in the now-bankrupt “green bank” company Aspiration, according to legal filings.

The Los Angeles Clippers reportedly turned down an arena naming rights offer from Aspiration that would have been worth around a billion dollars, according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. The Clippers chose Intuit instead.

As Aspiration struggled to pay bills in March 2023, LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer invested millions more into the company.

Journalist Pablo Torre was the first to reveal the explosive report last week surrounding Kawhi Leonard. Torre claimed that Leonard received a $28 million “no-show” endorsement deal. According to Torre, the agreement was linked to a fraudulent tree-planting company named Aspiration.

Investors, including Oaktree Capital Management and Hollywood leading men such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Downey Jr, are nursing hundreds of millions in losses. The company has this year filed for bankruptcy and one of its co-founders has agreed to plead guilty to federal fraud charges.