Ex D-I player turned Las Vegan building basketball business

Veteran basketball agent Tony Dutt insists that former Division I point guard Anthony Fields can become an NBA general manager one day. He has the smarts, the savvy. The acumen, the enthusiasm.

But right now, Fields is living in Las Vegas, building a basketball brand. A business. And right now, that’s more than good enough for him.

Fields is the vice president of basketball operations for the Vanguard Sports Group, an agency founded in 2014 by longtime football agent Joby Branion, who hired the precocious 29-year-old Fields in 2017 to build out a basketball division.

His clients include Chicago Bulls center Wendell Carter Jr., Miami Heat forward Chris Silva and free agent guard Ky Bowman, formerly of the Golden State Warriors. While he’s not a certified agent yet, he consults in contract negotiations, constructs his clients’ offseason regimens and helps to develop their brands away from the basketball court.

Fields hails from the Detroit area and began his professional career in Houston, but moved in 2019 to Las Vegas — a city he feels is a budding sports mecca.

One brimming with potential and promise, and fit for the effortlessly ebullient Fields.

“He can connect with the parents. He can connect with front office personnel and coaches and owners. He’s got the ability to really effectively communicate across the entire spectrum,” said Branion, who represents Chargers Pro Bowl wide receiver Keenan Allen and Broncos All-Pro linebacker Von Miller among others.

“He’s going to become a star.”

Playing and coaching

Fields had his own hoop dreams once upon a time.

He blossomed in greater Detroit as a lead guard prospect, generating recruiting interest from many of Michigan’s Division I programs — including Michigan State. But his recruitment stagnated, prompting a transfer to a prep school, Quality Education Academy, in Winston Salem, North Carolina, where he played alongside four- and five-star prospects and eventual pros like Quincy Miller and Sir’Dominic Pointer.

The move paid off. Fields was offered a scholarship by Wake Forest, to which he committed and played sparingly as a freshman in 2011-2012. He transferred to Bradley, from which he graduated before ultimately concluding his playing career in 2015-16 at Liberty under coach Ritchie McKay.

“He had a lot to do with shaping character and culture and the evolution of our program,” McKay said.

Fields started 11 games at Liberty as a fifth-year senior, but his presence in the program outweighed his production on the court. He even lived in the dormitories to set an example for the younger players — a rarity for any upperclassmen, let alone a 24-year-old in pursuit of a master’s degree.

He finished playing that spring and earned a graduate degree in sport management, though he was unsure of what profession he wanted to pursue.

“I knew I wanted to be around sports,” he said. “Specifically basketball.”

But that was about it.

So Fields assembled a resume and sought first to become a college coach. He reached out to head coaches across the country, campaigning for an opportunity to join a staff. He scored an interview with Billy Kennedy, then the head coach at Texas A&M. He was promptly hired as an operations assistant, tasked with film study, skill development and scouting.

NBA scouts and executives would come through Texas A&M’s campus that season to watch Aggies center Robert Williams, now a center for the Boston Celtics. Fields would introduce himself, building a collection of valuable contacts along the way.

One of those contacts just so happened to be Dutt, who signed the great Karl Malone in 1985 and once negotiated contracts on behalf of NBA All-Stars like Shawn Kemp and Rashard Lewis.

“He’s got everything you need in this business,” Dutt said of Fields. “He’s intelligent. He understands the game. He’s loyal. He’s honest.”

The basketball business

It was during his time at Texas A&M that Fields began considering athlete representation and management. Dutt recommended him to Branion, who made a point to meet with Fields while visiting the school’s campus that spring with Miller, an Aggie alum.

Branion said Fields was “incredibly genuine…direct and honest,” during their first meeting. Their conversations evolved over time, and Branion eventually offered Fields an opportunity to build Vanguard’s basketball division.

Fields worked from Houston for about 18 months and legitimized the firm’s basketball division by signing Carter, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft and one of the league’s most promising post players.

He moved to Las Vegas in January of 2019 because “there’s nothing bigger than Vegas,” he said.

“Everybody comes here. Summer league is here. Everybody makes their way to Vegas, and there’s some great talent here,” Fields said. “I wanted to be a part of that.”

Alas, here he is.

Fields has made Las Vegas his home, living a dream he didn’t know he had. Working in a league he’s always loved. Excited about another career that’s seemingly just beginning.

“For me, it’s all about continuing to build our brand. Continuing to take care of our clients. Continuing to be a voice for somebody like myself who didn’t really know what they wanted to do but be attached to sports,” Fields said. “It’s about learning through my experiences, taking my experiences and creating real opportunity.”

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.