The international basketball community has lost one of their own.
Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojević died on Jan. 17. He was 46.
Milojevic, who helped his team win the 2022 NBA championship, was hospitalized in Salt Lake City Jan. 16 after suffering a heart attack at a private team dinner, the Golden State Warriors said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"We are absolutely devastated by Dejan's sudden passing," Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr said in a 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."
Kerr added, "We grieve with and for his wife, Natasa, and their children, Nikola and Masa. Their loss is unfathomable."
Following Milojević's death, the NBA postponed the Warriors' Jan. 17 game against the Utah Jazz.
"The NBA mourns the sudden passing of Golden State assistant coach Dejan Milojević, a beloved colleague and dear friend to so many in the global basketball community," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a separate statement. "In addition to winning the 2022 NBA championship in his first season with the Warriors and mentoring some of the best players in the world, Dejan had a decorated international playing career and was a distinguished head coach in his native Serbia."
Silver continued, "Our heartfelt condolences go out to his wife, Natasa, their children, Nikola and Masa, and the Warriors organization during this tragic time."
Milojević, who joined the Warriors as an assistant coach in 2021, began his pro basketball career in the '90s as a player himself, playing for 14 years on teams in his home country of Serbia and other parts of Europe. He was named the Adriatic League's MVP three times.
In 2012, Milojević shifted his focus to the sidelines and became head coach for pro basketball teams in Serbia and Montenegro. Several of the players he worked with during that time went on to join the NBA, including Denver Nuggets center and league MVP Nikola Jokić..
"Rest in peace!" the fellow Serbian native wrote on Instagram, alongside a photo of the two. "Condolences to the family!"