Warriors forward Juan Toscano-Anderson hinted that his Slam Dunk contest routine would feature some Bay Area nostalgia and he followed through. While he fell short as the runner-up to Obi Toppin in a lackluster contest Saturday night, Toscano-Anderson tried to pull off a 2000 Oakland Arena Vince Carter elbow dunk and also donned a classic Jason Richardson jersey for his final attempt.
As @GSWReddit noted on Twitter, JTA was trying to mimic Richardson, who won NBA Slam Dunk contest titles in 2002 and 2003. Alas, he didn’t have enough explosion to get up and throw it down with his left hand, but he got close.
You still gotta love the effort from Toscano-Anderson, who grew up dunking on milk crates at his grandfather’s house in East Oakland. Following his appearance in the dunk contest, JTA jumped on the phone for a quick conversation with J-Rich.
“Way to go out there and rep The Bay, man,” Richardson said.
“I appreciate that, man,” Toscano-Anderson responded. “I apologize I didn’t convert that last dunk, man.”
You could see the anger in JTA’s eyes after he failed his five attempts in the final round, but he still made Dub Nation and Richardson proud Saturday night. The Warriors didn’t have much tradition to hang their hat on before the dynastic run of the past decade, but J-Rich was a bright spot during JTA’s youth.
Crazy to think it’s already been two decades since Richardson soared in the Slam Dunk contest. Kudos to the Warriors for making that cool moment happen.
