The Warriors have suffered a tragedy.
Assistant coach Dejan Milojević, who had been with the team since 2021, died Wednesday at the age of 46, the team confirmed in a statement.
"We are absolutely devastated by Dejan Milojević's sudden passing," said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. "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 of working with him. We grieve with and for his wife, Natasa, and their children, Nikola and Masa."
Milojević experienced a medical emergency Tuesday night at a team dinner with players and coaches before being hospitalized in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Warriors say Milojević suffered a heart attack and, despite life-saving measures, passed away Wednesday morning.
The NBA postponed the team's scheduled 3 p.m. PT game with the Jazz earlier in the day.
Before Milojević, born April 15, 1977 in Belgrade, Serbia, joined Golden State in 2021, he had a 15-year playing career in Europe. He was a three-time league MVP and two-time league-leading scorer of the Adriatic Basketball Association.
After his playing career ended, Milojević became head coach for Mega Basket of the ABA — where he played during his career — in 2012.
He coached for Mega Basket — coaching 11 future NBA players including Nikola Jokić — for eight years before joining Montenegrin club Budućnost in 2021 as head coach.
There, Milojević won the Montenegrin Cup and league championship before joining the Warriors that same year. He won an NBA championship with the Warriors in 2022.