According to Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic on Wednesday, Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic of Belgrade, Serbia passed away at the age of 46. Milojevic had a heart attack during a team dinner at the Salt Lake City restaurant of Valter’s Osteria on Tuesday evening. As a result, the Warriors game against the Utah Jazz was postponed on Wednesday.
Milojevic had been the Warriors assistant coach since August 13, 2021. He was on the Warriors coaching staff that won the 2022 NBA Finals. Golden State defeated the Boston Celtics in six games.
Milosevic’s primary responsibilities were trying to improve the Warriors’s rebounding skills. He worked specifically with center James Wiseman of Nashville, Tennessee, the controversial power forward Draymond Green of Saginaw, Michigan, and center Kevon Looney of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milosevic’s greatest impact appeared to be with Looney, who averaged a career-high 9.3 rebounds per game during the 2022-23 National Basketball Association regular season.
As a player, Milojevic was an elite power forward from 1994 to 2009, He was 6’7″, 255 pounds. He played professional basketball in Yugoslavia, Serbia, Montenegro, Spain, and Turkey. Milosevic’s greatest success as a player was with the Buducnost and Partizan, in the ABA League (the first division league in Serbia). He was the league’s most valuable player for three straight seasons from 2004 to 2006. Milojevic was with Buducnost in 2003-04, and Partizan in 2004-05, and 2005-06. He has the record for the most MVP awards in league history.
The Warriors are at 18 wins and 22 losses. They are two games back of the Los Angeles Lakers for the final spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
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