Any young player who starts to rise in stature inevitably gets compared to a more experienced or former NBA player. That's no different for Gui Santos as the Brazillian forward continues to be a revelation for the Golden State Warriors over recent games.
Santos was incredible for the Warriors in Saturday's hard-fought win over the Detroit Pistons at Chase Center, with the young forward finishing with 15 points and six rebounds in nearly 25 minutes off the bench.
The 22-year-old also had two huge individual plays in the second-half -- the first came when he rotated and sensationally blocked Jalen Duren at the rim, before controlling and finishing a terrific and-1 layup off a Stephen Curry miss mid-way through the fourth-quarter.
Gui Santos has drawn comparisons to Juan Toscano-Anderson
There's plenty of comparisons you could make for Santos, but undoubtedly the most common one is to former Golden State forward and 2022 NBA champion Juan Toscano-Anderson. Curry even fed into that after Saturday's game, becoming the most notable person to compare the two.
“He’s got a little Juan T in him,” Curry said to Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. “He seems very comfortable out there, the more reps he gets. You can see the passion too, how much it mattered. That and-1, his reaction was everything. He’s in the game, you know you’re going to feel his presence.”
There's certainly an apt reason for the comparison. They're naturally the same size and play the same position, but it's the energy and hustle Santos brings to the Warriors that is reminiscent of what Toscanso-Anderson delivered a few years ago. They're both connective pieces who have versatile skillsets, and who each can do so many of the little things that often don't show up in the box score.
However, comparison Santos to Toscano-Anderson may actually undersell his talent and what he could become for Golden State in the coming years. For starters, Santos is much younger than what Toscano-Anderson was when he entered the NBA, suggesting that he should have more upside as a player.
Where does that show up? Santos is a more polished scorer than 'JTA' was, or at least he has the potential to be. The biggest reason Toscano-Anderson is now out of the NBA is down to his inefficient 3-point shooting, but Santos doesn't possess that same concern. Not only is he more efficient at 36.4% in his short career to date, but Santos is also a more willing 3-point shooter which is critical within the Warrior offense.
The shooting has meant that Santos has also drawn comparisons to Toscano-Anderson's championship teammate Otto Porter Jr., but for now he's forging his own path which has been an exciting one to watch so far for Warrior fans.