Getty Former Warriors F Juan Toscano Anderson
It was little wonder, when forward Juan Toscano-Anderson made his NBA debut for the Golden State Warriors in February of 2020, that he almost immediately became a fan favorite. Though the team had already made the move to San Francisco, JTA, as he has been known, came with a story that was dripping with Oakland vibes through and through, and was a visible link to the team’s gritty past in the East Bay. And though he has not been with the Warriors for three years, he is back in the NBA, agreeing to a deal on Friday with the Sacramento Kings.
That comes via a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who wrote on Twitter/X: “The Sacramento Kings are signing F Juan Toscano-Anderson to a one-year deal, sources tell ESPN. Toscano-Anderson — who’s had stops with the Warriors, Lakers and Jazz — has been playing with Mexico City of the G League.”
Toscano-Anderson, who is half Mexican and plays for Mexico’s national team, was averaging 19.4 points and 6.4 rebounds, shooting 48.4% from the field, in 11 G-League games.
Juan Toscano-Anderson Reaches Sacramento Kings Through G League
It’s fitting that he is coming back to the NBA with the Sacramento Kings via the G League because it was at a tryout for the Warriors’ G-League team in Santa Cruz in 2018 that the Juan Toscano-Anderson NBA story began.
JTA had been a star at Castro Valley High School back in 2011, when he led the team to a 30-2 record, and went from there to the Upper Midwest, where he played for Marquette. Toscano-Anderson was a valued role player there for four seasons, but did not show much NBA potential—he averaged 3.8 points per game.
He bounced around the Mexican league and the Venezuelan league for four years before he visited an open tryout for the Santa Cruz Warriors in 2018. He wound up earning a spot with the club and began building a reputation as a high-motor, do-everything role player who earned time with hustle and smarts. That was how Juan Toscano-Anderson caught the attention of the Golden State Warriors, one of the franchises at the forefront of actively using its G-League roster.
That was how, in February 2020, in the midst of a terrible 15-50 season, the Warriors decided to sign Toscano-Anderson and give him some run over the final part of the season.
The Warriors have signed Juan Toscano-Anderson.
Toscano-Anderson has appeared in 31 games (12 starts) with the Santa Cruz Warriors this season, posting averages of 12.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.39 steals in 29.0 minutes per game.
JTA a Longshot Success Story
It worked. The Warriors brought back Juan Toscano-Anderson the following year and, over two seasons from 2020-22, JTA played 126 games for Golden State, averaging 4.8 points and 3.3 rebounds, making 53.2% of his shots. He played 16.7 minutes per game in those two years.
After the Warriors won the NBA Finals in 2022, JTA had an emotional reaction the celebration, acknowledging what a longshot he was to be in the NBA at all, let alone to be an NBA champion. He had a difficult upbringing in Oakland, when he was homeless on at least three occasions.
“It’s bigger than me. It’s bigger than all of that. It’s about dreams,” he said. “I’m not supposed to be here, so this is just a dream come true,” he said. “That’s the message that I want to send. Just work hard. You only got one life.”
“It’s a dream come true, it’s inexplicable.”
Juan Toscano-Anderson signed with the Lakers soon after the 2022 championship parade but was not much of a fit in L.A. He was traded to Utah at the deadline last February, but did not return in free agency. Thanks to the Sacramento Kings, he is back in the league now.