LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Kawhi Leonard will start in the NBA All-Star Game on March 7, but they might not be happy about it.

Antetokounmpo said that he would play, but has “zero energy” and “zero excitement” about doing so. James said he would be at the game “physically,” but not mentally. Leonard said the league was “just putting money over health right now.”

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has defended the event as a 70-year tradition.

“We don’t want people to gather for events around this All-Star,” said Silver. “There will be absolutely no social functions in Atlanta. No ticketed events. No parties. It is a made-for-television event at this point, and it’s largely in Atlanta because that’s where Turner Sports is located who will host this event.”

The league is condensing what is usually a weekend of contests into a single night, with the three-point contest taking place before the game, and the slam dunk contest happening at halftime. One thousand fans will attend the game, and players participating in it are asked by the league to self-quarantine with limited exceptions, starting on Feb. 27.

TNT took in an estimated $15 million by broadcasting 160 ads over last year’s contest, and including the slam dunk contest into this game could bring in around $24 million this year for parent company WarnerMedia, CEO Kevin Krim of advertising metrics firm EDO told CNBC. AT&T, Taco Bell, CarMax and Mountain Dew are among major sponsors for this year’s game.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has urged people not to come to the city for the event, and Silver echoed that sentiment. The NBA and NBA Players Association will donate $2.5 million to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as part of the event.

Five years ago, Big League Advance placed a bet on a 17 year-old Fernando Tatis Jr. On Wednesday, that bet paid off big time.

Big League Advance allows players to monetize their potential, paying prospects up front for a cut of their future earnings. With his record breaking 14-year, $340 million deal, Tatis Jr. is now Big League Advance’s biggest success story.

The company is part of a growing industry that allows prospects to monetize their potential or otherwise hedge their bets. 

• The recently launched Evolution Development Group focuses on athletes in sports that are expensive to break into, namely golf, auto racing and combat sports. The company recently announced Andretti Autosports as an investment partner.
• Brooklyn Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie cut out the middle man last year and offered bonds connected to his own earning futures on a blockchain exchange.
• Fantex, which bought player future earnings and then sold them on an exchange, closed its platform in 2017. 

Big League Advance’s investors include Cleveland Browns executive and former baseball executive Paul DePodesta and Marvin Bush, brother of former President George W. Bush, who chairs the company board.

Founder and CEO Michael Schwimer, 35, saw the challenges and uncertainty faced by minor leaguers in his own brief career as a relief pitcher, in which he pitched just under 50 Major League innings over two seasons.

The company has invested $156 million in minor league baseball players, using predictive analytics to forecast their future success. Because Major League Baseball’s contract structure suppresses earnings in a player’s first six years, particularly the first three, the company must take a long view of its investments.

Luxury clothing brand Moncler reported an 8% boost in revenue for the last quarter of 2020, resulting in over $1.7 billion in revenue for the year.

Moncler is named after mountain village Moestier-de-Clermont and was founded with the goal of making sleeping bags and tents.

The brand has longstanding ties to sportswear. In 1968, it became the official supplier of the French downhill ski team during the Winter Olympics.

Moncler said its revenue decreased 11% year-over-year, but that the Q4 jump recorded a 26% margin on sales and net cash exceeded $1 billion.

It attributed part of that success to its acquisition of Stone Island, a high-end Italian sportswear brand, for $1.4 billion in December.

“With Stone Island, the MonclerGroup strengthens its presence in the growing new luxury segment, which is about community, experientiality and cross-fertilization,” said Remo Ruffini, chairman and CEO of Moncler.