Dejan Milojevic, during a Golden State Warriors preseason game against the Denver Nuggets, in San Francisco, California, October 14, 2022. JEFF CHIU / AP
Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic, victim of a heart attack and urgently hospitalized on the night of Tuesday January 16 to Wednesday January 17 in Salt Lake City (Utah), died Wednesday morning at the age of 46 years, announced the North American basketball league (NBA) and the California franchise on Wednesday evening.
Milojevic fell ill during a private team dinner on Tuesday evening, leading to the postponement of Wednesday’s game against the Utah Jazz. The Warriors franchise stated that “despite all efforts to save him”he died late Wednesday morning.
“We are completely devastated by the sudden death of Dejan”reacted Steve Kerr, the head coach of Golden State who recruited the Serbian as an assistant in 2021 and with whom he won the NBA championship title in 2022.
“He was so pleasant to be around. At the same time, he had incredible basketball experience, both as a player and as a coach. It made so much sense for us to bring Deki in.”explained Steve Kerr in a video broadcast by the Warriors last year.
Dejan Milojevic was crowned European champion in 2001 with Yugoslavia as a player, having played for clubs in Serbia, Spain and Turkey. Head coach of the Serbian Mega Basket club, he was also an assistant to the Serbian national team alongside Igor Koskoskov, the current assistant of the Atlanta Hawks.
In Europe, he had contributed to the development of several major players, including the Serbian pivot Nikola Jokic (double MVP – best player in the league – and reigning NBA champion with Denver) or the Croatian Los Angeles Clippers Ivica Zubac, who deplored on Instagram the loss of his « ami Say »His nickname.
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Minute of silence in several NBA rooms
On the networks or in front of the cameras, players (Pau Gasol, Karl-Anthony Towns, etc.) and coaches paid tribute before Wednesday’s matches. “You changed my life in such a short time (…) we will miss your joy of life and your laughter forever”reacted young Warriors fullback Brandin Podziemski.
Toronto Raptors Serbian coach Darko Rajakovic regretted leaving “a role model, as a player, man, husband and coach”whom he knew “since adolescence”. “During our last meeting he talked about his dream of one day becoming Serbia coach”added Rajakovic before the Raptors’ game against Miami.
In his playing career, Dejan Milojevic gleaned three consecutive titles (2004, 2005 and 2006) as best player (MVP) in the Adriatic League, the championship which brings together the best teams from the countries of the former Yugoslavia. NBA star Nikola Jokic was also crowned that league’s MVP in 2015, a year after current Golden State forward Dario Saric.
“I teach all my players that basketball is not a job, but that they have to love the game,” Dejan Milojevic told Bosnian radio and television RTV during an interview in 2018. Because if you want to do something for the next twenty years, then you have to love it a lot. It’s not easy to endure all this effort if you don’t like something. Only those who have a sincere love for the game can handle everything very successfully. »
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Through the voice of its boss, Adam Silver, the NBA paid tribute to Dejan Milojevic, “a valued colleague and dear friend to many in the international basketball community”. A minute of silence was observed in several rooms before the start of the day’s matches, notably at TD Garden in Boston, which hosted Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs.
2024-01-17 23:39:46
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