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Juan Toscano-Anderson is one of the most fun, heartwarming stories in the NBA this year. The 28-year-old Bay Area native made it to the NBA this year on a two-way deal after grinding for years in the G League. Ultimately, after becoming a rotation piece for his hometown Golden State Warriors, he agreed to a two-year deal with the team this week to become a full-time member of the squad.
On Thursday, Toscano-Anderson signed his deal with the Warriors. As he did it, he called his mom at the podium to share the moment with her. It was an emotional moment for both, and afterwards he had one thing in mind: going to see her and getting a home cooked meal.
Made it official and called mom pic.twitter.com/iZ9Dskaunw
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) May 14, 2021
“I just wanted to tell you that I’m so proud of you son,” she said. “I’m so glad that you never gave up. I’m just so happy that God had given you the desires of your heart. I’ve been praying for this for you for what just makes you happy. And everything that you have so hard worked for.”
Toscano-Anderson also said he plans to buy his brother a car with some of the money from his new deal.
Juan Toscano-Anderson says he’s going to buy his little brother a car after signing his new contract. The emotion is palpable. pic.twitter.com/IzODrcetum
— Wes Goldberg (@wcgoldberg) May 14, 2021
“I’m just super excited to be able to help my littler brother,” he told reporters. “He just got his license a week ago and …. It might be a small gesture to me, but I wasn’t able to have car at 18. I wasn’t even able to get my first car until I was 26 years old. Little things like that, man. I’ll be able to help my little brother get a car. That’s going to change his life. He’ll be able to get a job, he’ll be able to be mobile. He’s going to be able to be a young man, a young adult and not have to depend on mom. It’s the little things like that that I think about.”
“Obviously, I’m super excited for myself to be on the team and continue to play basketball,” he continued, “but it’s just a life-changing contract. It’s a life-changing signature. And there’s more work to be done. I get kind of paranoid in situations like this because I am happy, but the real work starts now. I don’t want to say I feel pressure because I don’t feel pressure, but there’s more that I need to do.”
It is a reminder of just how much making it can mean to not just a player but he and his family. Toscano-Anderson getting to share that moment with his mother and explaining how he’s going to be able to change the lives of his family now is tremendous.
