TORONTO — Nikola Vučević will remember Dejan Milojević for his positive attitude.
Even though he only met Milojević in 2021 when he joined the Golden State Warriors as an assistant coach, Vučević grew up seeing Milojević as a significant figure in his basketball development, first as a player and later as a mentor to the next generation of Serbian stars.
Dejan Milojević passed away. at age 46 He suffered a heart attack during a team dinner in Salt Lake City on Tuesday night. The NBA postponed the Warriors’ games on Wednesday against the Utah Jazz and on Friday against the Dallas Mavericks to allow the team proper time to mourn.
To Vučević, Milojević leaves a legacy of playing, coaching, and leading with a positive and vibrant energy that was evident to those who knew him.
“He just has a great energy,” Vučević said Thursday. “I felt like I’d known him for a long time. It’s such a tragic loss for basketball and especially for basketball back home.”
Milojević played from 1994 to 2009 and was a three-time MVP of the Adriatic Basketball Association, the top league in the former Yugoslavian republics. He represented Serbia and Slovenia internationally, winning a gold medal with Serbia at the 2001 EuroBasket tournament.
Vučević described the respect that Milojević earned by performing well despite being shorter than most players. He was able to outmuscle taller players and dominate the Euroleague on the boards.
“He was a huge competitor,” Vučević said. “He just played really hard. He was an undersized four or five and made up for it with his IQ and effort.”
Following his retirement as a player, Milojević became a well-known coach in Serbia, particularly for his guidance of two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić. He started coaching Mega Vizura in 2012 and sent 11 players to the NBA draft over the following eight seasons before joining Steve Kerr’s Warriors staff. He also worked as an assistant coach for the Serbian national team from 2019-21.
Vučević mentioned reaching out to Jokić, as well as Vasilije Micić of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Nikola Jović of the Miami Heat, who also had a connection with Milojević from Mega, to check in on Wednesday.
“I'm aware that many of them are deeply affected,” Vučević said. “I know it’s not easy. A lot of the younger guys that came up with him, it really touched them deeply.”
The passing of Milojević overshadowed the Bulls’ 116-110 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night. The Raptors’ head coach, Darko Rajaković, was a close friend of Milojević.
Rajaković fought back tears before and after Wednesday’s game against the Heat as he talked about Milojević’s impact on Serbian basketball. He designed an after-timeout play in the first quarter that he affectionately referred to as “borrowed” from his friend.
“I knew Dejan since I was a teenager,” Rajaković told reporters. “He was a role model as a player, as a man, as a husband, as a coach — somebody that I really admired and have a lot of respect for. This is a really sad day for the whole NBA community.”
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