Warriors assistant Dejan Milojević, 46, dies after heart attack

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 Tuesday night after a medical emergency during a private team dinner. 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’s death elicited a massive and immediate outpouring of sympathy from the basketball community, and moments of silence were held Wednesday before NBA games. Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called the news “horrific.” Atlanta forward Bogdan Bogdanovic — a Serbian, like Milojević — politely declined comment Wednesday before the Hawks’ game, saying “I’m sorry. I can’t talk about it right now. I feel so bad” while tapping his chest. San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich raved about how good a coach Milojević was.

“You changed my life in such a short time,” Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski wrote on social media. “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.”

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 — as well in Montenegro and had been an assistant coach for the Serbian national team alongside current Hawks assistant Igor Kokoskov.

“The NBA mourns the sudden passing of Golden State assistant coach Dejan Milojević, a beloved colleague and dear friend to so many in the global basketball community,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. “In addition to winning the 2022 NBA championship in his first season with the Warriors and mentoring some of the best players in the world, Dejan had a decorated international playing career and was a distinguished head coach in his native Serbia.”