46-year-old Warriors assistant Dejan Milojevic died on Wednesday following a sudden heart attack
The Golden State Warriors announced that assistant coach Dejan Milojevic died on Wednesday, January 17 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
A Shocking, Sudden Passing
Milojevic suffered a heart attack at a private team dinner ahead of their scheduled road game against the Utah Jazz.
Needless to say, the NBA postponed the Warrior’s contest that night.
“We are absolutely devastated by Dejan’s sudden passing,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said in a statement. “This is a shocking and tragic blow for everyone associated with the Warriros and an incredibly difficult time for his family, friends, and all of us who had the incredible pleasure to work with him.”
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A Lifetime On The Hardwood
The Serbian-born Milojevic had been with the Warriors as part of Kerr’s staff since 2021, but had essentially been in and around the game his entire life. Standing 6’7″, he played power forward overseas from 1994 until 2009, appearing for the FR Yugoslavian/Serbian league teams Beovuk, FMP, Budućnost, and Partizan.
After his playing career, he went on to become a successful head coach in Europe, winning a Serbian Cup and helping to mentor future NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.
Milojevic never played in the National Basketball Association but was considered a valuable part of the Warriors staff. The team will return to the court in his memory eventually, but it won’t be on Friday night, either.
Their game against the Dallas Mavericks has also been announced as being postponed. So it’s likely Golden State will resume play on Jan. 24 – at home against the Atlanta Hawks.
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