1,689 days. That’s how long Juan Toscano-Anderson waited. Now, he’s a Golden State Warriors forward, and he’s been in the national spotlight.
From the night he didn’t hear his name called to the first time he stepped on the Chase Center court for the Warriors, almost five years passed. It’s rare for a player to take that long to find a spot and rarer still for them to keep it.
But Juan isn’t going anywhere.
When he arrived at the Warriors as a 27-year-old rookie, he was a completely unknown quantity.
Nobody keeps track of recent champions or MVPs in Mexico’s LNBP. Juan’s dominance was as unheralded as his arrival on the floor. You could even say he was the most decorated player on the team not named Steph, Klay, or Draymond.
In the dozen games he played, he convinced everyone of his place on a winning roster. Even though miscast as a traditional wing, his infectious energy, quick ball movement, and shooting chops made him a strong cog of Steve Kerr’s motion offense.
Making the right decision is just as important as making it quickly in the Warriors’ offense, and JTA is well above average at doing both. His production on the stat sheet didn’t jump off the page but he did more than enough in that handful of games to solidify his spot for the next season.