Dejan Milojevic’s death is mourned by Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski on social media: ‘You changed my life’

Brandin Podziemski – a rookie guard for the Warriors – paid tribute to late Golden State assistant coach Dejan Milojevic on social media after news of the 46-year-old Serbian’s death broke earlier on Wednesday.

Milojevic died Tuesday evening in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he was hospitalized after suffering what the team described as a medical emergency during a private team dinner.

“You changed my life in such a short time,” Podziemski wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “The most important thing you ever told me was just to laugh!” Your joy and laughter will be forever missed. Shine down on us from heaven.”

Milojevic’s death sparked a huge and immediate outpouring of sympathy from the basketball community, and moments of silence were held on Wednesday before NBA games.

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called the news “horrific.” Atlanta forward Bogdan Bogdanovic – a Serb, like Milojevic – politely declined to comment before the Hawks’ game on Wednesday, saying: ‘I’m sorry. I can’t talk about it now. I feel so bad,” tapping his chest. San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich raved about how good coach Milojevic was.

Milojevic died after a medical emergency during a team dinner in Salt Lake City, a day before the Warriors were to play the Jazz

Podziemski said Milojevic ‘changed his life in such a short time’ and never stopped smiling

Milojevic was in his third season with the Warriors. He previously coached in Serbia — where he once worked with a young Nikola Jokic before the now-Denver Nuggets star came to the United States — along with Montenegro, and had been an assistant coach for the Serbian national team alongside current Atlanta assistant Igor Koskoskov.

In addition to Jokic, Milojevic worked closely with the likes of Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac, Orlando center Goga Bitadze and Houston center Boban Marjanovic during his time coaching in Europe. At the Warriors, he mainly worked with big men like Kevon Looney, who raved about Milojevic’s eye for detail.

“Rest in peace, Deki,” Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic wrote on social media.

Kerr said he originally met Milojevic from Kent Lacob, the son of Golden State owner Joe Lacob. And when the Warriors went through some personnel changes in 2021, Kerr decided to pursue Milojevic. It took some convincing, but Milojevic eventually agreed to the offer. Kerr was delighted.

“I immediately saw what Kent was talking about,” Kerr said last year in a video the Warriors produced. “He was so great to be around. At the same time, he had a great basketball background, both as a player and as a coach. It made so much sense that we brought in Deki.”

Milojevic was honored before the Celtics defeated the Spurs at TD Garden on Wednesday night

Milojevic worked closely with Nuggets star Nikola Jokic and many other Europeans in the NBA, including the Clippers’ Ivica Zubac and Houston center Boban Marjanovic

Milojevic won three straight MVP awards in the Adriatic League, winning those trophies in 2004, 2005 and 2006, when the 6-foot-1, 240-pound power forward was at the height of his playing career. Jokic was that league’s MVP in 2015, a year after current Golden State forward Dario Saric was MVP.

His potential in the game came early: Shortly after he started playing, Milojevic scored 141 points in a match as a 14-year-old in 1991.

“I teach all my players that basketball is not a job, but that they should enjoy the game,” Milojevic told Bosnian radio station RTV in a 2018 interview. ‘Because if you want to do something for the next twenty years, you have to love it very much. It’s not easy to endure all these efforts if you don’t like something. Only those who sincerely love the game can tackle anything with great success.”

Before joining the Warriors, Milojevic had NBA experience through Summer League assistant coaching stints with Atlanta, San Antonio and Houston. He is survived by his wife Natasa and their children Nikola and Masa.