The Golden State Warriors have postponed their January 19 game against Dallas in the wake of the death of their assistant coach, Dejan Milojevic. Milojevic suffered a heart attack at a team dinner on January 16, leading the NBA to postpone the team's game against Utah. Milojevic was announced to have died shortly after news of the postponement broke. He is survived by his wife and two children. The Warriors said that the organization was "devastated" at Milojevic's passing while announcing the news on X, former Twitter.
Teams around the league observed a minute's silence for the successful European coach before games on January 17. "Rest in peace, Deki," Luka Doncic wrote on social media. "You changed my life in such a short time. The most important thing you ever told me was to just smile! Your joy and laughs will forever be missed. Shine down on us from heaven," Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski added in his own post. The Warriors' next expected game is against Atlanta on January 24.
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Who Was Dejan Milojevic?
Milojevic had served on Steve Kerr's staff since 2021 and was well-regarded both within the NBA and abroad. Furthermore, at least one team interviewed Milojevic about their head coaching vacancy following the 2022/23 season. Prior to coming to the NBA, Milojevic established himself as a proven winner in Eastern Europe. Additionally, his time coaching Serbian side Mega meant that he was closely involved with the early development of Nikola Jokic.
However, despite going undrafted in the NBA in 1999, Milojevic carved out his own impressive domestic playing career. He was a back-to-back-to-back MVP of the Adriatic League between 2004 and 2006. Furthermore, he won three titles in the YUBA League, Serbia and Montenegro's now-defunct pro league. He retired in 2009 and took over as coach of Serbian powerhouse Mega in 2012. Before joining the Warriors in 2021, Milojevic had taken numerous jobs with summer league teams, making him well-known in NBA circles.
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