JTA has some new artwork on his left forearm.
Juan Toscano-Anderson and the Los Angeles Lakers are back in The Bay for Tuesday night’s season opener. The Lakers were in town last week for a preseason matchup, so JTA got to meet up with Jordan Poole and his ex-teammates.
Thanks to the schedule, JTA will be in the building for ring night as the Warriors raise a banner at Chase Center. As Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times shared from Tuesday morning’s shootaround, JTA has a tattoo of the Larry O’Brien trophy on his arm.
JTA's trophy tattoo@DanWoikeSports/TWitter
Jason Dumas of KRON4 also shared video of JTA's media session on Tuedsay.
Toscano-Anderson should get a lot of love from Dub Nation before he steps on the floor for the Lakers on Tuesday night. The East Oakland native grew up a Warriors fan and endeared himself to the fanbase with his high-energy style of play, though his playing time waned last season as rookies like Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody joined the rotation.
Now JTA is playing on a minimum deal for an aging Lakers team that is trying to restore the franchise’s luster, after its steep decline since winning the 2020 title. JTA recently shared his thoughts on the differences for playing with Warriors and the Lakers.
“You know I try to find the perfect analogy for it and maybe the better analogy I can come with is, the Lakers are like Jay-Z,” Toscano-Anderson told Sirius XM radio, via Lakers Nation. “Longevity, everybody knows that Jay-Z is like a great, the great, and that’s kind of like what the Lakers are. They’ve been so good for so long, they are like the team in the NBA, it’s kinda like what the Cowboys are to the NFL. The Warriors, they just got good like 10 years ago, and I can say that because I’ve been a Warriors fan my whole life, I used to go to Warriors games when they were giving out free tickets.
“It’s just a little different, it’s kinda like, I don’t even really know how to explain it, I don’t even know how to put it in words. It’s just different the Lakers have had longevity of success and I think the standard and idea of success here in L.A. has been different over a long course of time then it has for the Warriors. The Warriors have kind of, not kind of they have just turned that leaf to where it’s like if we don’t win a championship it was an underachieving season and I think that’s what it is here in L.A. It’s either championship or bust here. I mean that’s why it’s the city of champions. So I think that’s the difference is just the longevity in regards of success.”
