NBA: Dejan Milojevic, assistant coach of the Golden State Warriors, died at 46

Dejan Milojevic is no more. A former Yugoslav basketball glory who became assistant coach to Steve Kerr at the Golden State Warriors, he died at the age of 46 on Wednesday, according to several American and European media. The highly respected journalist Adrian Wojnarowski thus launched the news on formerly Twitter: “Golden State assistant coach Dejan Milojevic has passed away. Milojevic, 46, was hospitalized Tuesday in critical condition. After a 15-year playing and coaching career, the Serbia native joined the Warriors team in 2021. He was a beloved figure in global and league circles. »

The Warriors quickly paid tribute to their coach on the social network: “We are absolutely devastated by the sudden death of Dejan Milojević. This is a shocking and tragic blow to everyone associated with the Warriors and an incredibly difficult time for his family, friends and all of us who had the incredible pleasure of working with him. We mourn with and for his wife, Natasa, and their children, Nikola and Masa. »

We are absolutely devastated by Dejan Milojević’s sudden passing,

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.

We grieve… pic.twitter.com/9wAyb1JXz8

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) January 17, 2024

The information has still not been confirmed by the Warriors, who spoke a few hours earlier of the hospitalization of their coach after “a medical emergency during a private team dinner”. The San Francisco players are currently traveling to Utah, to Salt Lake City. Their planned meeting against Jazz has been postponed.

Milojevic, aged 46, was crowned European champion in 2001 with Yugoslavia as a player. First coach of the Serbian club Mega Basket, this close friend of Denver’s Serbian pivot Nikola Jokic was recruited as an assistant coach in 2021 by Steve Kerr’s Warriors, with whom he won the NBA championship title in 2022.