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The NBA has dropped the hammer on the Los Angeles Clippers.
After a yearlong investigation into salary-cap circumvention involving Kawhi Leonard, the league is stripping the Clippers of five first-round picks and fining owner Steve Ballmer $30 million, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Ballmer, general managers Lawrence Frank and president of business operations Gillian Zucker also received suspensions. Leonard will pay $700,000 in restitution for improper benefits involving his uncle and former business representative Dennis Robertson, but he will not be suspended and his contract will remain intact.
The NBA superstar reacted with a bit of defiance as the news circulated.
Meanwhile, Robertson has been banned from NBA business dealings.
It is a staggering package of penalties — and one that immediately belongs in the conversation with the harshest front-office punishments in league history.
Here are the the most severe penalties the NBA has ever handed down until now.
Malice at the Palace – 2004
The NBA’s response to the 2004 “Malice at the Palace” remains one of the broadest disciplinary actions in league history.
Nine players were suspended for a combined 146 games, including Ron Artest for the remainder of the season and playoffs. Artest and teammate Stephen Jackson went into the stands and inexplicably fought fans.
The fallout also reshaped league policy. The NBA tightened arena security, created larger buffers between players and fans, imposed stricter limits on alcohol sales and formalized a fan code of conduct.
The incident also helped usher in broader efforts to regulate player conduct and presentation, including the league’s dress code the following season.
Timberwolves — Joe Smith scandal, 2000
Minnesota secretly arranged future contracts with Smith in an attempt to circumvent the salary cap and preserve his Bird rights.
The NBA responded by initially stripping the Timberwolves of five first-round picks, fining the organization $3.5 million and voiding Smith’s contract. Owner Glen Taylor was suspended and Kevin McHale temporarily stepped away from basketball operations.
Two picks were eventually restored, but the original five-pick penalty became the gold standard for how seriously the league viewed cap circumvention.
The Clippers now match that initial draft punishment — while absorbing a far larger financial hit.
Suns — Robert Sarver, 2022
Sarver was suspended for one year and fined $10 million following an investigation into workplace misconduct.
At the time, that fine was massive. Ballmer’s reported $30 million penalty is three times larger.
Clippers — Donald Sterling, 2014
Sterling still owns the most extreme individual punishment.
After racist comments became public, commissioner Adam Silver banned him from the NBA for life, fined him $2.5 million and set in motion the process that eventually led to the sale of the Clippers.
Mavericks — workplace scandal, 2018
An independent investigation into the Mavericks uncovered widespread workplace misconduct and serious failures in the organization’s handling of complaints.
Owner Mark Cuban agreed to contribute $10 million to organizations supporting women’s leadership and combating domestic violence, while Dallas implemented sweeping workplace reforms.
The Joe Smith case remains the clearest historical precedent, but the Clippers’ punishment is broader in some ways: five first-rounders, a record-sized financial hit and multiple executive suspensions.
That puts this ruling in exceedingly rare company.
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