Tag: Juan Toscano-Anderson

When Juan Toscano-Anderson’s career was on shaky ground, Mexico supported him – now, he’s giving back

‘The support that I’ve gotten here over the years is inexplicable,’ says JTA of his ancestral home of Mexico.

For most of the NBA’s history, Mexico City was not exactly a hotbed of basketball fandom, with other, more established sports like soccer and US rules football outpacing local interest. But over the last few decades, the league has been increasing its footprint in the country as the local fans grew swiftly — now estimated at over 20 million in the country.

Much of that growth has been by design, with the NBA putting one of its Global Academies in San Luis Potosi to help generate interest in the sport in between instances of regular-season and exhibition games being played in the country as they have been since the 1990s. But some of that growth has also been organic, driven by players whose roots run deep in the US’ southern neighbor, such as Los Angeles Lakers forward Juan Toscano-Anderson.

Toscano-Anderson grew up in Oakland, California, but kept his culture inherited from a grandfather migrating to the US from Mexico alive at home, speaking Spanish and celebrating Mexican holidays as well as US ones.

‘I think they’ve got the pieces,’ says Juan Toscano-Anderson of Boston Celtics’ title aspirations

Far from Massachusetts or San Francisco Bay in Mexico City, Juan Toscano Anderson talked about the Celtics with us.

Given he was part of the team that just beat the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals and he just signed with that team’s historic rivals in the Los Angeles Lakers, you might not expect forward Juan Toscano-Anderson to be especially friendly towards the Celtics.

But the champion wing — the first Mexican-American to win an NBA title in decades and just the second of all time to do so — had plenty of good things to say about them at a youth camp he holds in Mexico City to promote the sport in his ancestral home. Toscano-Anderson made it clear he holds the players and coaching staff both in the highest of regard in his conversation with the Celtics Wire earlier this week.

“First of all, I have the utmost respect for the coaching staff there,” offered the Lakers forward. “Ime Udoka and the rest of the coaching staff.”

Steph Curry reacts to free-agent Juan Toscano-Anderson agreeing to deal with Lakers

Following Juan Toscano-Anderson’s move to the Lakers on the first day of free agency, Steph Curry shared a message on Twitter for his former teammate.

After the first day of free agency, a pair of former members of the Golden State Warriors have reportedly reached deals with new teams. With his former teammates on the move, Steph Curry took to Twitter with a message for Juan Toscano-Anderson.

Following a three-year stint with the Warriors, Toscano-Anderson has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. After Toscano-Anderson’s move in free agency, Curry chimed in with a goodbye to the Oakland native.

Along with a message to Toscano-Anderson, Curry shared a video from the Warriors’ locker room celebration following their win in Game 6 against the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals.

Via @StephenCurry30 on Twitter:

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

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Report: Free-agent Juan Toscano-Anderson agrees to deal with Los Angeles Lakers

Free-agent Juan Toscano-Anderson has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.

After spending three seasons in the Bay Area with the Golden State Warriors, Oakland native Juan Toscano-Anderson appears to be on his way to Southern California. 

According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports, Toscano-Anderson has agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. Prior to the start of free agency, the Warriors didn’t extend a qualifying offer to Toscano-Anderson, making the 29-year-old forward a free agent. 

Via @ChrisBHaynes on Twitter:

After going undrafted out of Marquette in 2015, Toscano-Anderson spent three seasons playing professionally in Mexico before trying out for the G League Santa Cruz Warriors. 

During the 2019-2020 campaign, Toscano-Anderson was recalled by the Warriors to make his NBA debut. In three seasons with the Warriors, Toscano-Anderson quickly became a fan favorite at San Francisco’s Chase Center behind his gritty attitude and high-flying dunks. 

On the way to the NBA championship in 2022, Toscano-Anderson averaged 4.1 points on 48.9% shooting from the floor with 2.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 0.7 steals in 13.6 minutes per game. 

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

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Juan Toscano-Anderson will join the Lakers

Golden State Warriors forward Juan Toscano-Anderson will be heading south to become a member of the Lakers.

One of the biggest goals and needs for the Los Angeles Lakers this summer was to upgrade their depth and talent at the wing spot.

The men they signed last summer to play that spot, Trevor Ariza and Carmelo Anthony, by and large, failed to do so and proved they were over the hill.

General manager Rob Pelinka said recently that another goal the team had was to get younger.

On Thursday, L.A. moved the needle a bit in all those aspects by getting forward Juan Toscano-Anderson to agree to a contract.

Toscano-Anderson spent the last three seasons with the Golden State Warriors, where he earned an NBA championship earlier this month.

He is 6-foot-6 and weighs about 209 pounds, and he is known as a decent defender who can also knock down outside shots, although his 3-point shooting accuracy has gone up and down over time.

Toscano-Anderson went undrafted in 2015 and spent some time playing internationally and in the G League before finding his way onto the Warriors.

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Injury Report: Warriors’ Juan Toscano-Anderson, Otto Porter Jr. questionable vs. Nuggets

Both Juan Toscano-Anderson and Otto Porter Jr. are listed as questionable against the Denver Nuggets on Monday.

After the Golden State Warriors’ loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, Steve Kerr ruled out Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson for Monday’s contest in Denver against the Nuggets.

Along with Golden State’s trio of starters, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Gary Payton II and James Wiseman are all ruled out for Monday’s contest.

On Monday, the Warriors added both Juan Toscano-Anderson and Otto Porter Jr. to the injury report with general illnesses. If Toscano-Anderson and Otto Porter Jr. are unavailable, Steve Kerr will have a limited rotation with eight available players.

Via @anthonyVslater on Twitter:

Without four starters and four key pieces off the bench against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, the Warriors will need to lean on their young core of Jordan Poole, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody.

On Saturday against the Lakers, Poole tallied 23 points off the bench in 32 minutes. Kuminga added 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field in an appearance off the bench against the Lakers.

The Warriors are slated to tip-off against the Nuggets at 6 p.m. PT on Monday.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

Warriors’ Juan Toscano-Anderson reaches final round of 2022 NBA Slam Dunk Contest

After reaching the final round of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Juan Toscano-Anderson landed in second place behind winner Obi Toppin.

For the first time since 2014, a member of the Golden State Warriors took center stage at the NBA Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday night at All-Star weekend.

Donning a special Mexico edition of Golden State’s black jersey, Juan Toscano-Anderson opened the dunk contest with an explosive slam over his teammate Andrew Wiggins, earning a 44 from the judges.

With his second dunk in the first round, the Oakland native flew to the rim with a spinning 360 windmill dunk. On a night where most of the dunkers failed to punch home dunks on their first attempt, Toscano-Anderson didn’t waste any time throwing down both of his opening round dunks quickly.

With an 87 after two dunks, Toscano-Anderson advanced past Cole Anthony and Jalen Green to meet Obi Toppin in the final round of the contest.

Via @warriors on Twitter:

NBA Slam Dunk Contest: Obi Toppin bests Juan Toscano-Anderson to win

Obi Toppin on Saturday defeated Juan Toscano-Anderson in the final to take home the trophy in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.

New York Knicks forward Obi Toppin on Saturday defeated Golden State Warriors guard Juan Toscano-Anderson to take home the trophy in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend.

Toppin, competing for the second straight year, and Toscano-Anderson made it to the final round after out-dunking Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony and Houston Rockets rookie Jalen Green. The event had some highlights but was mostly anticlimatic after numerous failed attempts.

Anthony got the action started by bringing out his father and former 11-year NBA veteran, Greg. Cole changed from his basketball shoes into a fresh pair of Timberlands and proceeded to dunk the ball from Greg. He was given a 40 by the panel of judges.

The turning point of the evening was when Green was on center stage.

He was assisted by rookie teammate Joshua Christopher. Unfortunately, the energy was sucked out of the building after Green needed several attempts to throw down his dunk. He eventually changed his dunk a bit and was finally able to get it down.

From there, the reaction from the announcers on TNT, which featured Reggie Miller, Kenny Smith and Dwyane Wade, was mixed. The crowd on hand in Cleveland, including those celebrities and former players, appeared to have given up on the competition.

The evening still produced several highlight-worthy jams that provided plenty of entertainment to continue All-Star Weekend. Here are all of the dunk attempts from the four contestants.

NBA fans were not thrilled by this year’s Slam Dunk Contest

Obi Toppin ran away with a victory on Saturday night after Juan Toscano-Anderson ran out of attempts on his final dunk.

The NBA Slam Dunk Contest was once nearly as big an affair as the All-Star Game itself. We all have our favorite whether that be Vince Carter’s monster performance in 2000 or a more recent event like the 2016 showdown between Aaron Gordon and Zach LaVine.

This year’s contest proved to be a bit anticlimactic, though. New York Knicks forward Obi Toppin rolled to a relatively easy victory, having the high score in the first round and essentially winning by default in the finals after fellow finalist Juan Toscano-Anderson ran out of attempts on his second dunk.

There were certainly iconic moments from Toppin’s performance, and while it wasn’t his highest-scoring dunk, it’s hard not to be impressed with this one that sealed his advancement into the final round. Toppin tossed it off the glass and slammed it home with a windmill through the legs.

There were also some, shall we say, interesting moments. Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony led off the contest by channeling his inner New Yorker, donning a pair of Timberlands and wearing the Knicks jersey that his father, Greg Anthony, once wore. The elder Anthony also gave his son the assist.

But Anthony’s run came to an end prematurely as he ran out of attempts on his second dunk and was eliminated in the first round.

That proved to be a recurring theme throughout the contest, as many of the candidates took several tries before successfully executing the dunk. Some fans were disappointed with the showing, which was far from one of the most exciting dunk contests in recent years.

Here were some of the best reactions on Twitter.

NBA Slam Dunk Contest: How to watch Warriors’ Juan Toscano-Anderson on Saturday night

Before Juan Toscano-Anderson takes the stage at the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest, here’s everything you need to know about Saturday night and how to watch.

After Jonathan Kuminga represented the Golden State Warriors on Friday night at the Rising Stars Game, Juan Toscano-Anderson will take center stage on Saturday night at All-Star weekend in Cleveland.

The Oakland native forward will compete against Houston’s Jalen Green, New York’s Obi Toppin and Orlando’s Cole Anthony in the 2022 edition of the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest. The dunk contest will serve as the grand finale of Saturday’s All-Star festivities with the 3-point contest and the skills challenge.

Toscano-Anderson will be the first member of the Warriors to compete in the dunk contest since Harrison Barnes in 2014. Prior to that, Jason Richardson won back-to-back dunk contest titles in 2002 and 2003.

Before Toscano-Anderson takes flight above the rim on Saturday night, below is everything you need to know about the contest, including where to watch the contest on television.

Date, Time, Channel, Location: 

  • Date: Saturday, Feb. 19
  • Time: 5 p.m. PT
  • TV Channel: TNT
  • Location: Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse

Participants: 

  • Juan Toscano-Anderson – Golden State Warriors
  • Jalen Green – Houston Rockets
  • Obi Toppin – New York Knicks
  • Cole Anthony – Orlando Magic

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook! 

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