Clippers name lawyer John Gibson interim governor

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  Baxter HolmesSep 21, 2026, 12:50 PM ET

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  Baxter Holmes (@Baxter) is a senior writer for ESPN Digital and Print, focusing on the NBA. He has covered the Lakers, the Celtics and previously worked for The Boston Globe and Los Angeles Times.

The LA Clippers have named John Gibson, a Los Angeles-based trial lawyer, as the franchise's interim Governor and CEO, a source told ESPN's Shams Charania.

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, who is facing a one-year suspension following the NBA's investigation into salary cap circumvention allegations involving the team's former star Kawhi Leonard, nominated Gibson, and the NBA approved him on Monday after a vetting process.

Gibson is a long-time Clippers season-ticket holder and, along with being a trial lawyer, was a litigation partner at DLA Piper in Los Angeles. He is a graduate of Harvard and the University of Michigan Law School.

Gibson joins the Clippers nearly three weeks after the NBA handed down its harshest-ever punishment to the team following a nearly yearlong investigation by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Along with Ballmer's suspension, the NBA issued a $30 million fine, the forfeiture of five first-round draft picks and suspensions for team executives Lawrence Frank and Gillian Zucker.

Leonard was also fined $700,000.

Ballmer recently accepted the NBA's punishment, saying in a statement, in part, that though they disagreed with some of the findings, "We are complying with the penalties assessed by the league, have paid the fine and are moving forward."