Fortune Goes Big at the NBA Summer League

Last week, Team Fortune participated in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. This annual gathering includes all 30 professional teams and features fresh faces and up-and-comers from the 2025 draft class in a total of 76 games.  

Groups like the NBA Coaches, Trainers, and the Performance Nutrition Associations use the opportunity to convene annual meetings where they compare notes and plan how to better support their teams.  For the first time, the chefs of the NBA had their own meeting, and Fortune was invited to talk with them about our favorite subject—food. Our friends at the Philadelphia 76ers, who already enjoy Fortune products, asked us to make a presentation to the chefs about our premium proteins and gourmet products that are clean enough to support NBA caliber athletes and of the highest quality to meet the demands of chefs.  Founder and CEO Sean O’Scannlain shared the Fortune story, and our product experts Justin Sarubbi, and MJ Gimbar spoke about meat and seafood programs, respectively.  

We took the group on a 3-hour virtual tour of all things Fortune, highlighting some of our exclusive products, proteins, and gourmet selections fit for top athletes.  

Talk & Taste  

It was fascinating to learn more about the specific needs of chefs cooking for basketball teams. Many NBA chefs cook to order and honor special requests from players. The standards are high, and they look for quality, nutrient-dense foods to keep athletes in peak condition. 

The chefs were thrilled to taste and compare grass-fed and wagyu beef, as well as lean game meats like venison and bison. The chefs were particularly surprised by our exclusive regeneratively raised, free-range, vegetable-fed D'Artagnan Green Circle™ Chicken. At first, they were underwhelmed that we wanted them to taste chicken, but they soon joined the ranks of Green Circle fans, which includes many Michelin-starred chefs. Green Circle birds (both Rock Cornish and heritage Gallus brun breeds) are raised for 56 to 84 days—far longer than commodity poultry—which creates richer flavor and firmer texture. “A happy chicken is a tasty chicken,” as D’Artagnan founder Ariane Daguin always says.   

As always, the proteins were simply prepared with nothing more than salt and a little pepper, so the quality, texture, and flavor can be tasted and experienced.  

Our partners at Bluefiná raise bluefin responsibly and sustainably, making sashimi-grade tuna with exceptional fat content and melt-in-your-mouth texture available year-round. They impressed the crowd with their signature tuna breakdown. This demonstration is a showstopper; chefs appreciate the in-depth knowledge they gain from watching (and then tasting) every cut of the tuna takedown. 

Nice Finish!  

Beyond the center-of-the-plate proteins, we shared cooking oil from Partanna and fine finishing olive oils from Castillo de Canena—the sherry cask-aged Arbequina olive oil was a hit with both seared scallops and roasted chicken. Several chefs insisted on taking olive oil back to their kitchens to play with, and we happily obliged. We paired traditionally brewed Japanese shoyu sauces from WA Imports with our Hokubu Hokkaido scallops and freshly cut bluefin tuna to great effect.   

Dinner at Craftsteak 

The camaraderie and conversation continued the next night with our dinner at Tom Colicchio’s Craftsteak. The menu featured Fortune ingredients—this time prepared and fully seasoned—Bluefin tuna tartare, cured wild sockeye salmon, charred octopus, Green Circle chicken, bison filet, veal flank steak, Hokkaido scallops, and roasted mushrooms.  

Special Thanks 

A giant “thank you” to our partners who generously provided gifts for the chefs to bring home (a win in Las Vegas!).  

TILIT, known for their expertly built, beautifully designed, and hyper-functional workwear for the hospitality world, donated aprons to the hardworking chefs. 

STAND+ work shoes were born from personal necessity and a mission to serve those who stand the longest. They provided a pair of shoes for each participant and coordinated the correct size for every chef!   

Steelport Knife Co. provided two paring knives, a boning knife and a chef’s knife, and four lucky chefs won them in our giveaway. Steelport was founded in Portland, Oregon, to create heirloom-quality, American-made kitchen knives that combine the best elements of traditional craftsmanship with modern engineering. Chef Walter Banks of the Detroit Pistons took home the chef’s knife on his birthday! 

Sensational Snacks 

Shout out to our friends and suppliers listed below. We simply had to share snacks throughout the day, and these products hit the spot!