Warriors Assistant Dejan Milojević, 46, Dies After Heart Attack

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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.

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 coach Gregg Popovich raved about how good a coach Milojević was.

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, plus had been an assistant coach for the Serbian national team alongside current Atlanta assistant Igor Kokoskov.

Milojević won three consecutive MVP awards in the Adriatic League, taking those trophies in 2004, 2005 and 2006 when the 6-foot-7, 240-pound power forward was at the peak of his playing career.