Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojević, a mentor to two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and a former star player in his native Serbia, died Wednesday in Utah after suffering a heart attack, the team announced.
Milojević, part of the staff that helped the Warriors win the 2022 NBA championship, was 46. Milojević died in Salt Lake City, where he was hospitalized after the medical emergency happened during a private team dinner on Tuesday night.
The Warriors had been scheduled to play the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night, a game the NBA postponed. "We are absolutely devastated by Dejan's sudden passing," coach Steve Kerr said in a statement released by the team. "This is a shocking and tragic blow for everyone associated with the Warriors and an incredibly difficult time for his family, friends, and all of us who had the incredible pleasure to work with him." Milojević was in his third season with the Warriors.
He previously coached in Serbia — where he once worked with a young Jokic before the now-Denver Nuggets star came to the United States — along with Montenegro.