National Basketball Association

Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojević dies

Updated Jan. 17, 2024 5:59 p.m. ET

Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojević died Wednesday, the team has announced. Milojević had been hospitalized in Salt Lake City after suffering a heart attack on Tuesday night during a team dinner.

"We are absolutely devastated by Dejan Milojević's sudden passing," 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. … We grieve with and for his wife, Natasa, and their children, Nikola and Masa."

The NBA has postponed Wednesday's game between the Warriors and the Utah Jazz. The league did not immediately announce a rescheduled date.

The 46-year-old Milojević was in his third season with the Warriors and was part of the group that helped Golden State win the 2022 NBA championship. He previously coached in Serbia — where he once worked with a young Nikola Jokic before the now-Denver Nuggets star and two-time NBA MVP came to the United States — along with Montenegro, plus is a past assistant coach for the Serbian national team.

He had prior NBA experience through Summer League stints with the Atlanta Hawks, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets. Milojević spent 14 years as a player and was a three-time MVP of the Adriatic League.

Reporting by The Associated Press.