The plot thickens

The GIST: ICYMI, LA Clipper Kawhi Leonard has been the talk of the sports world amid an alleged salary cap circumvention scandal. Here’s what you need to know about this developing story, initially broken by investigative journalist Pablo Torre, including NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s first public comments on the incident. Drama-rama.

🔎 The background: Leonard won the 2019 NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors, along with his second career Finals MVP. He then entered free agency, signing with the LA Clippers (much to Raps fans’ chagrin). In 2021, environmental firm Aspiration signed a $300M long-term partnership with the Clippers following team owner Steve Ballmer’s $50M investment in the company.

• Then in 2022, Leonard signed his own four-year, $28M endorsement deal with Aspiration, a partnership that held essentially zero obligations for the NBA star.

• By March 2025, Aspiration had filed for bankruptcy, with an employee telling Torre the Leonard deal was made to “circumvent the salary cap,” which limits the max amount NBA team owners can pay players. The league is now investigating the situation.

📰 The latest: Yesterday, a new Torre report claimed that the Clippers’ only minority owner (who just so happens to be Ballmer’s former Harvard roommate) wired $2M to Aspiration in 2022 when the company was running out of money. Almost immediately following that transfer, Aspiration paid Leonard $1.75M — and then laid off 20% of their staff.

• The plot had already thickened on Tuesday when the Toronto Star reported that Leonard’s team sought a similar financial deal from the Raptors in 2019, with the six-time All-Star’s uncle and advisor Dennis Robertson asking for at least $10M in “no-show endorsements,” like the Aspiration one, for his nephew. Truly wild.

⚖️ Why this investigation matters: NBA owners can pay their players more than the salary cap permits, but in return, the team is penalized and must pay a luxury tax, which was created to discourage excessive spending. Silver considers salary cap circumvention a “cardinal sin” and on Wednesday reiterated that if the Clippers broke the rules, they will be punished. Needless to say, we’ll be watching.

The GIST: Seven months after the reigning champ Philadelphia Eagles pummeled the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, the perennial powerhouses will meet again on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET. Plenty has changed since the Birds outplayed KC in February — let’s discuss.

🦅 Eagles need more from quarterback (QB) Jalen Hurts: The reigning Super Bowl MVP and fan favorite looked pedestrian in the pocket despite Philly’s Week 1 win. Hurts threw for a mere 152 yards and connected on just one pass (of his 19 total completions) with superstar wide receiver (WR) A.J. Brown against a meh-at-best Dallas Cowboys defense. Not great.

🔴 Unfamiliar territory for KC: Cracks started to show in their dynastic armor last year, but QB Patrick Mahomes’ wizardry still led KC to the Super Bowl. Some glaring roster holes remain though, like a clear lack of WR depth after Xavier Worthy’s Week 1 shoulder injury. Even magic can’t fix everything.

• Now, KC is on the brink of their first 0-2 start since 2014, four years before Mahomes stepped under center. And they’ll certainly want to avoid that fate: Only five of the 40 teams who’ve started 0-2 since 2020 have made the postseason. Yikes.

🤔 The edge: For the first time since October 2022, KC enters a game as the underdog — and while that doesn’t mean much on its own (Mahomes has won 13 of the 20 career games where he was not favored), expect the Eagles’ fierce pass rush to once again wreak havoc on Mahomes’ offense. Some things have changed; some stay the same.

Think brackets are all stats and stress? Not here. The GIST’s Women’s Pro Basketball Bracket Challenge powered by FanDuel keeps it simple and seriously fun — just choose winners for each round until you crown your women’s hoops champ. It’s really that easy.

You can submit up to three brackets, meaning you can play every angle, lean into the postseason chaos, and see what sticks. Try mixing it up with one of these strategies:

👀 Check the line on FanDuel, even if you don’t always go with the odds-on fave.

💅 Pick based on aesthetic, whether it’s seafoam green or violet and gold.

🪙 Flip a coin. No, seriously. There’s so much parity this season, it just might work.

Whatever method you swear by, submit your bracket ASAP — entries are due Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. May the odds be ever in your favor.

⚾ MLB: Baltimore Orioles vs. Toronto Blue Jays — Tonight at 7:07 p.m. ET — Sportsnet

• Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, but the standings remain tight as ever with just over two weeks of regular-season baseball left to play. Luckily, the Jays are in prime position to lengthen their lead in this divisional series against their struggling feathery foes.

🏉 Women’s Rugby World Cup: No. 7 Australia vs. No. 2 Canada — Tomorrow at 8 a.m. ET — TSN

• It’s Sophie de Goede’s world, and we’re just living in it — Canada’s all-time leading scorer tops the Canucks in tackles, offloads, and carries. Add in full-back Julia Schell, who’s scored a tourney-best six tries, and the Canadians look ready to ruck and roll in this quarter-final.

👟 Track & field: World Athletics Championships — Tomorrow through September 21st — CBC Sports

• The sport’s biggest stars have descended on Tokyo for the highly anticipated biennial competition. An event to watch this weekend? Sunday’s women’s hammer throw, featuring Canadian Camryn Rogers, the reigning Worlds champ and Olympic gold medalist.

⚽ NSL: Vancouver Rise vs. AFC Toronto — Tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET — CBC

• The two best teams in the Northern Super League (NSL) go head-to-head tomorrow, with CanWNT star Quinn’s Rise coming in extra hot. Vancouver is riding an eight-game unbeaten streak and are just six points (aka two wins) behind Toronto.

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• That’s why it just makes sense that Maybelline’s an official beauty partner of the WNBA in Canada: Not only are they consistently raising the bar with new products and inclusive shades, but they’re also supporting women’s sports. A thing of beauty.