The annual NBA All-Star Game will remain at its scheduled venue this year, despite the ongoing league investigation involving the Los Angeles Clippers and their owner, Steve Ballmer.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated this Monday that the All-Star weekend events for this year will proceed as planned at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, come February.
“There are no plans to relocate the All-Star Game, and preparations for the All-Star Game and its related activities are progressing entirely separate from the current investigation,” Silver stated, according to the Associated Press.
The Clippers officially began playing at the Intuit Dome last season, following several years of sharing Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles with the Lakers, the WNBA’s Sparks, and the NHL’s Kings. The Intuit Dome, located near both SoFi Stadium and The Forum in Inglewood, is also slated to host basketball games during the 2028 Olympics.
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Speculation about the All-Star Game’s potential move from the Intuit Dome surfaced in recent weeks after journalist Pablo Torre published a report detailing allegations of salary cap breaches involving star player Kawhi Leonard. Leonard allegedly entered into a $28 million agreement with the tree-planting non-profit organization, Aspiration, for what essentially amounted to a “no-show” position. It’s alleged that Ballmer and the Clippers provided funding to the company.
Ballmer has stated that he was “defrauded” by Aspiration, which has since declared bankruptcy, however, Torre reported that Ballmer continued donating to the organization long after Aspiration began showing significant financial difficulties.
Since then, the league has initiated an investigation into the matter, although Silver specified that “clear evidence” of the Clippers violating league rules would be necessary to warrant any action against the team. The league is authorized to impose substantial penalties if it determines that the Clippers did in fact violate its salary cap regulations, including imposing financial penalties, invalidating contracts, or even forfeiting draft picks.
Leonard, who joined the Clippers prior to the 2019-2020 season, posted an average of 21.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last season. He brushed off the allegations when questioned about them during the team’s media day last month.
“I don’t follow headlines or engage in conspiracy theories or anything of that nature,” he said. “My focus is on the season and what lies ahead for us now. The NBA will conduct their investigation. None of us engaged in any wrongdoing. That’s all there is to it.”
The NBA All-Star weekend is scheduled to occur from February 14-16, 2026.
