Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic dies after heart attack

Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic died on Wednesday after suffering a heart attack one night earlier during a private team dinner, the team said. He was 46.

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Milojevic was hospitalized and in critical condition Tuesday night after he experienced a health emergency at a restaurant in Salt Lake City, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. He had been dining with players and coaches.

The Warriors canceled Wednesday morning’s scheduled shoot-around at the University of Utah, according to the newspaper. The NBA later postponed Golden State’s scheduled Wednesday night game against the Jazz after learning about Milojevic’s hospitalization, ESPN reported.

Milojevic was hired by the Warriors in 2021 from his native Serbia, where he was a star player and had been credited with developing Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, according to the East Bay Times.

“We are absolutely devastated by Dejan’s sudden passing,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said in a team statement. “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.

“In addition to being a terrific basketball coach, Dejan was one of the most positive and beautiful human beings I have ever known, someone who brought joy and light to every single day with his passion and energy. We grieve with and for his wife, Natasa, and their children, Nikola and Masa. Their loss is unfathomable.”

A 6-foot-7, 250-pound three-time Adriatic League MVP once known as “the Serbian Charles Barkley,” Milojevic received an NBA offer in 2005 but decided to remain with KK Partizan, his hometown team, the Chronicle reported.

As coach of the Serbian club KK Mega Baske for eight years, Milojevic helped develop 11 future NBA draft picks, including Jokic, Ivica Zubac, Vlatko Cancar and Goga Bitadze, according to the newspaper.

Milojevic was born in Belgrade and played from 1994 until 2009 in Europe, including Serbia, Spain, Montenegro and Turkey from 1994 until 2009, the Times reported.

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