Golden State Warriors fans have been in celebration mode this summer following the team’s storybook run to the NBA championship. However, it has also been something of a bittersweet time for the fandom as multiple players from the Dubs’ title-winning roster have moved on to other teams.
As much as the various departures have stung, though, Juan Toscano-Anderson‘s move to SoCal and the rival LA Lakers may just sting the most. After all, JTA is Oakland born and bred, and his journey from The Town and Mexico to the G League and, finally, the Warriors is the stuff of legend.
His run in the Bay couldn’t have ended on a higher note, though. In a recent interview with Warriors Wire, Toscano-Anderson spoke glowingly about the experience of winning a championship and then celebrating the big win with his people.
“It was amazing,” Toscano-Anderson said. “I think the most amazing part was being at the parade.”
JTA Dishes on Getting a Ring With the Dubs
Juan Toscano-Anderson, now with the Lakers, kicking off a camp here in Mexico City @NBAMEX
Toscano-Anderson was no stranger to victory parades when he finally got to experience one in his honor earlier this summer. Before his pro career took off, the native son had attended championship celebrations as a lifelong fan.
“I would go to the Warriors’ parades I can back in 2015-16 when they were first winning, and I would be out in the crowd,” he told Warriors Wire.
However, being one of the focal points of the merriment was a whole new experience for the 29-year-old baller.
“Obviously, that’s a different perspective. I’m looking at the players, but as a player on the bus and looking into the crowd and seeing everybody like I see friends, family, people that I grew up with, colleagues, et cetera. So, I felt like the celebration was more for me personally,” Toscano-Anderson said.
“I felt like the celebration was more like, ‘Wow, this is for Oakland!’, as opposed to ‘Damn, I just want a championship with the Warriors’. It was a combination of both, but it just hit different for me because I’ve been a Warriors fan my whole life — Speedy Claxton and Bob Sura are point guards I thought were the most amazing people in the world. They were huge when I was growing up, among my favorite players.”
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JTA’s Dubs Career At a Glance
After making the jump from the G League’s Santa Cruz Warriors to its parent club in San Francisco, Toscano-Anderson went on to appear in 139 NBA games across three seasons. Over that span, he averaged 4.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 17.1 minutes per contest while logging shooting splits of 52-36-61.
With his run with the franchise officially having reached its end, though, it’s the moments — not the numbers — that he holds in his heart.
“To win a championship but to do it with guys like Steph Curry and Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, those are special moments,” the former Warriors forward added. “Those are things I’ll never forget.”
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Juan Toscano-Anderson Sounds Off on Warriors Title Run After Golden State Exit