Very Sad: Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojević, 46, dies of heart attack

Very Sad: Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojević, 46, dies of heart attack

The Golden State Warriors revealed that assistant coach Dejan Milojević passed away on Wednesday due to a heart attack. 46 was his age.

The team released a statement saying, “We are absolutely devastated by Dejan Milojević’s sudden passing.” “This is an extremely difficult time for his family, friends, and all of us who had the incredible pleasure of working with him. It is a shocking and tragic blow for everyone associated with the Warriors.”

The team announced on Wednesday that Milojević was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday night in Salt Lake City following a medical emergency during a private team dinner.

The NBA decided to postpone Wednesday’s Warriors vs. Utah Jazz game due to the gravity of the situation. A new date wasn’t promptly announced by the league.

During his third season with the Warriors, Milojević was a member of the team that contributed to Golden State’s 2022 NBA championship win. Prior to Nikola Jokić, the current Denver star and two-time NBA MVP, moving to the United States, he worked as an assistant coach for the Serbian national team and coached in Montenegro and Serbia.

Longtime international pro Dylan Ennis, who was coached by Milojević, wrote on Twitter, “You were not only a basketball master, you were an amazing human being.” “So many people are going to miss you.”

Among the players Milojević coached in Europe were Jokić, Ivica Zubac of the Los Angeles Clippers, Goga Bitadze of Orlando, and Boban Marjanović of Houston. Kerr claimed that Kent Lacob, the son of Golden State owner Joe Lacob, was the one who first introduced him to Milojević. Furthermore, Kerr made the decision to go after Milojević in 2021 after the Warriors underwent a few personnel changes.

After considerable persuasion, Milojević accepted the offer. Kerr was ecstatic.

“I knew right away what Kent was talking about,” Kerr remarked in a Warriors video from the previous year. It was a pleasure to be around him. In addition, he had an incredible background in basketball as a coach and player. Bringing Deki in was a logical decision.

When the 6ft 7in, 240lb power forward was at the height of his playing career, in 2004, 2005, and 2006, Milojević won three straight Adriatic League Most Valuable Player awards. 2015 would see Jokić win the league MVP award, one year after current Golden State forward Dario Šarić did.

Milojević is the player with the most Adriatic MVPs, and there are legends surrounding some of his early games. Among them were the 141 points he scored in 1991 at the age of 14, 83 of which came in the second half after his coach told him to take all the shots.

“In an interview with Bosnian radio-television station RTV in 2018, I teach all of my players that basketball is not a job, but that they should enjoy the game,” Milojević said. “Because you have to really love something if you want to pursue it for the next 20 years.” It’s difficult to put up with all of these efforts if you find something objectionable. The only people who can manage everything with remarkable success are those who genuinely love the game.

Milojević worked as an assistant coach in the Summer League for Atlanta, San Antonio, and Houston before joining the Warriors.

Soon after Milojević’s death was made public, condolences started to come in, even from Valencia, the Spanish team he played for two seasons. Valencia’s statement said, “The Club wants to send his family a lot of encouragement and strength in these difficult times, and convey all our support.”