While the Bucks didn’t lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy in 2022 for a second straight season, four players and one in the front office with Milwaukee connections did as members of the Golden State Warriors.
Kevon Looney won his third NBA championship, while Jordan Poole, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Gary Payton II won their first after the Warriors dispatched the Boston Celtics in six games Thursday night at TD Garden.
Juan Toscano-Anderson had the Mexican flag when presenting the trophy
Although a championship is quite remarkable, Toscano-Anderson, who played for Marquette from 2011 to 2015, made history in the process.
Toscano-Anderson, a native of Oakland, became the first player of Mexican descent to win an NBA championship.
At the trophy presentation, Toscano-Anderson had the Mexican flag draped over his shoulders as teammates Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins were interviewed.
The 29-year-old small forward played sparingly in the NBA Finals – he averaged just 2.0 minutes and didn’t score. He averaged 4.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 13.6 minutes during the regular season. He played 73 games and started six. But it was quite a journey for Toscano-Anderson to get to the biggest stage in the NBA.
This is Toscano-Anderson’s third season with the Warriors after going undrafted and then playing professionally in Mexico following his Marquette career.
Jordan Poole became a Warriors star during the 2022 season and playoffs
Poole, who grew up in Milwaukee and played three years at Rufus King High School, was the star for the Warriors this season.
The Warriors selected Poole in the 2019 draft, on the heels of their fifth straight NBA Finals appearance. But injuries to future Warriors Hall of Famers broke the dynasty for a bit, and Poole learned of the growing pains of being an NBA player. During his rookie season, he spent time with the Warriors’ G-League team as Golden State had a league-worst record with just 15 wins.
But Poole, 22, was knocked out in his third season. He started 51 games for the Warriors in a year in which he set career highs in all major statistical categories.
He shone in the playoffs.
He shot 50.8% from the field, 39.1% from 3-point range and 91.5% from the free throw line. He averaged nearly 17 points per game in the playoffs, which was just shy of his regular season average of 18.5.
Poole scored in double figures in 19 of the Warriors’ 22 playoff games, including two 30-point games.
In the Finals, he averaged 13.2 points on 43.2 percent shooting and 36.1 percent from 3-point range in 20.8 minutes.
And he scored 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting Thursday night, including three 3-pointers on a 21-0 run by the Warriors that straddled the first and second quarters.
Kevon Looney wins his third NBA Finals with Golden State
Looney, meanwhile, is building quite a collection of championship rings as a Warriors veteran.
In the former Milwaukee Hamilton star’s seven seasons, the Warriors have made the NBA Finals five times. Injuries, however, kept him out of the finals in 2016 and 2017.
This season, Looney continued his progress and showed his durability. The 26-year-old played in all 82 regular season games, starting 80 of them. Both are career highs.
The 6-foot-9 center averaged 6.0 points and 7.3 rebounds, another career high.
Looney, the Warriors’ 30th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, helped Golden State tie the series at 1-1 when he scored 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds in Game 2.
Gary Payton II wins his first championship ring
Relations with Milwaukee did not stop there.
Gary Payton II, who was part of the Bucks organization from 2016 to 2018, also played in this year’s Warriors championship.
The 29-year-old shooter had his best season, averaging points (7.1) and games played (71). He had his best performance in Game 5 – a 104-94 Warriors victory – when he scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
Payton’s father, of course, is Hall of Famer Gary Payton, who also played briefly for the Bucks after being part of the Ray Allen trade. The eldest Payton was there to celebrate with his son on Thursday evening.
Former Bucks general manager Larry Harris adds another title to Warriors front office
Besides the players, Bucks fans will also recognize someone in the Warriors front office.
Larry Harris, who spent 19 years with the Milwaukee Bucks, including five as general manager (2003-07), has been with the Warriors organization since 2008. He has not only been a key figure in the the franchise’s rise to the top of the NBA. over the past decade, but he also played a role in bringing Milwaukee-born talent to the table.
The 59-year-old has just completed his sixth season as the team’s assistant general manager/director of player personnel.
After spending a season on the bench for the Warriors as an assistant coach following his release from the Bucks, Harris switched roles and became a consultant/scout for the team. He held this position for six years.
Contact Christopher Kuhagen at 262-446-6634 or christopher.kuhagen@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ckuhagen and our newsroom Instagram accounts on MyCommunityNow and Lake Country Now.
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