Clippers Rock Bottom 9.0, Plus Charles Barkley on the Clips, 76ers, Lakers, ESPN, and Why He Loves Josh Allen

September 3, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

"This Was One of the Shut the Popcorn" — Charles Barkley on the Clippers' Historic Punishment, LeBron's Move, and Why He Loves Josh Allen

The Clippers' punishment landed like a bomb in the middle of what was supposed to be a routine September podcast. Five first-round picks gone. Steve Ballmer suspended from his own arena for a year. Lawrence Frank out for six months. A $30 million fine. The NBA's investigative report, 36 pages of damning detail, revealed a scheme where Kawhi Leonard got paid by two obscure companies for endorsements that required no actual endorsing—no commercials, no public announcements, no performance obligations. "It never added up why he was getting endorsement money not to endorse anything," Bill Simmons said. "Well, the report spells it out."

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What you'll learn

1 (03:18) **The Clippers Get Hammered** - Simmons opens with his reaction to the NBA's historic punishment of the Clippers, calling it a "phenomenal level of incompetence"
2 (08:10) **The "Sniff Test" Evidence Against the Clippers** - Simmons walks through the damning details from the NBA's 36-page investigative report
3 (12:40) **A 50-Year History of Incompetence** - Simmons recites the Clippers' legendary history of failure, from the 1970s to the Kawhi era
4 (21:28) **Charles Barkley Joins: "The Clippers Got What They Deserved"** - Barkley reacts to the punishment and the Clippers' history of failure
5 (27:40) **On "Free Money" and the Joe Smith Precedent** - Barkley discusses the temptation of shady deals and the history of under-the-table agreements
6 (32:37) **Should Fans Have Protection?** - Simmons and Barkley discuss the plight of Clippers season ticket holders
7 (35:03) **"It's Impossible to Be Bad at Sports"** - Barkley explains why the Clippers' failure is a failure of talent evaluation

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

The Ringer’s Bill Simmons starts the pod by giving his thoughts on the NBA punishing the Clippers. Then, Charles Barkley joins to discuss the Clippers news, Jaylen in Philly, LeBron leaving the Lakers, and much more!

(0:00) Intro

(2:50) The Clippers get punished

(22:57) Charles Barkley on the Clippers, ESPN, and more!

Host: Bill Simmons

Guest: Charles Barkley

Producers: Chia Hao Tat and Eduardo Ocampo

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