Evan Fournier has shared his thoughts on the viral timeout speech given by Juan Toscano-Anderson during the FIBA Intercontinental Cup final between Unicaja Malaga and G League United.
In a clip circulating online, Toscano-Anderson, frustrated with his team’s performance, delivered a passionate speech while trailing by 18 points in the third quarter.
The speech, which included expletives, emphasized Toscano-Anderson’s desire for himself and his teammates to aim higher and strive for the NBA rather than settle for European competitions.
“Every single one of us n*gga we all are better than this sh*t! Our dream is not to play f*cking ACB, our dream is not to play f*cking EuroLeague! Our dream is to play in the National Basketball Association, n*gga, to make millions and hundreds of millions dollars,” Toscano-Anderson told his teammates during the timeout.
The heated remarks quickly sparked reactions on social media, with some interpreting them as disrespectful towards European basketball.
Fournier, now with Olympiacos after returning to Europe this offseason, weighed in on the situation via X, defending Toscano-Anderson’s intentions.
“Maybe I missed something but am I the only one that don’t see anything wrong here? Dude is getting his ass kicked and tryna motivate his team,” Fournier tweeted in response to the clip.
Fournier added that he did not believe Toscano-Anderson’s words were meant to disrespect European basketball but rather to motivate his teammates in a tough situation.
“I don’t think he meant to disrespect European basketball. I might be wrong tho,” Fournier added in his tweet.
Toscano-Anderson played a team-high 30 minutes during the game, finishing with 7 points and 4 rebounds.
Despite his efforts and emotional speech, G League United was unable to mount a comeback, with Unicaja ultimately winning the game 75-60.
The game marked the culmination of an intense tournament, but Toscano-Anderson’s speech became one of the focal points of discussion.
