Timberwolves' Anthony Tolliver owns a blueprint for financial success

The Timberwolves forward claims he has become so versed on money matters that he can dissect stock market listings and determine which ventures are worth buying or selling. Tolliver's knowledge of the NBA's collective bargaining agreement led to his appointment, by default, as the Wolves' player representative a month ago.

"He had all the answers in the meeting and was explaining things," point guard Jonny Flynn said of a meeting Wolves players had with lawyers from the NBA players union. "We were all looking at him. We figured why not make him our player rep?"

Tolliver, 25, did not have a sudden revelation about finance after signing with the Wolves as a free agent in August. The two-year, $4.8 million deal is his first guaranteed contract in a sporadic NBA career. Long before that, Tolliver had developed a passion for learning about money.

"Everything I learned about the value of a dollar came from my mom," said Tolliver, whose mother, Donna Lewis, died of a heart attack in 2008 after working 32 years as a high school teacher in Springfield, Mo. "It was amazing how she was able to raise three children by herself on a teacher's salary. The most she made in one year was about $45,000, but we always had the things we needed."

Two years ago, Tolliver started Say You Can LLC, a real estate business, in his hometown of Springfield. Last summer, he unveiled Ad Solutions Group, a direct advertising company in Little Rock, Ark.

Say You Can is a tribute to Tolliver's mother. That was the signature phrase she yelled to Tolliver when she watched him play for Kickapoo High School in Springfield.

"She actually said, 'Say you can, baby,' but we took off the baby," said Kelly Byrne, Tolliver's real estate partner and high school teammate.

Ad Solutions Group was launched with Ralph Duda, another high school teammate. Tolliver said he has ideas for other ventures.

"I want to have my hand in a lot of different and successful things," he said. "I've been thinking about getting into franchising. I want to do things that have potential. Eventually, I want to be able to make more money away from basketball when I'm done playing."

Tolliver said former Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson is one of his role models. Johnson turned his Hall of Fame legacy as a player into a business empire that has given him a net worth of $500 million to $700 million, according to Forbes Magazine's list of top entrepreneurs in America.

"From observing Magic and how he's done things, I know you have to be just as competitive off the court," Tolliver said. "Whenever I walk into a business, I'm thinking about what type of money this business makes. How can this business become more successful?"

Between games and practices, Tolliver can be spotted on his cell phone handling business matters. He talks with Byrne, a former basketball player at St. Cloud State, at least once a day and Duda at least once a week.