Despite being born in Oakland, California, Juan Toscano-Anderson carries his parents roots, and has become the only Mexican player in the current NBA.
After spending four years at Marquette and making a name for himself in the G-League with Santa Cruz, Toscano-Anderson signed a contract with the Golden State Warriors for the remainder of the season.
Oakland's own has revealed how proud he is of his roots, and even expressed how it feels to be the only Mexican national in the league.
“It’s one thing to play for a team and represent a city, but when you’re representing a whole country and you have a whole country behind you, it’s an amazing feeling.”
He has also been giving back to the Mexican communities. Over the NBA All-Star break, Juan Toscano-Anderson held a basketball clinic at an elementary school in Monterrey, Mexico. He played two seasons for Fuerza Regia de Monterrey in Mexico's top league, earning All-Star Game MVP honors in both appearances and winning a title in 2016-17.
#ThisIsWhyWePlay 💙@juanonjuan10 spent his All Star break hosting a basketball clinic at a local elementary school in Monterrey, Mexico, where he played for two seasons earlier in his career. pic.twitter.com/umOQS2anRP
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) February 18, 2020
Basketball in Mexico is not really a big thing, but Toscano-Anderson has faith that soon it will grow exponentially. On a scale of 1 to 10, Juan believes Mexico’s interest in the game is a 4 but growing.
Juan is only the fifth Mexican player in NBA history, following the footsteps from Horacio Llamas, Eduardo Najera, Gustavo Ayon and Jorge Gutierrez.