On Wednesday, the NBA community was shocked to learn that Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan
Milojević had died unexpectedly from a heart attack while attending a team dinner in Salt Lake City on Tuesday
night. Being a highly respected individual, it sent shockwaves across the league and provided an opportunity for
other coaches, including Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham, to consider his legacy.
Though the three-time ABA League MVP only coached for four years in the NBA, Ham and Milojević never met,
Ham was highly respected for his work with centers across the league. His collaboration with Nikola Jokić
throughout his eight years as Serbia’s head coach made him particularly well-known. A close-up view of that work
was given to Ham during the Western Conference Finals of the previous season.
The Lakers coach shared his reflections on the loss of Milojević and the significance of the Warriors assistant to the
NBA community.
“This is a sobering scenario,” Ham remarked. We often become engrossed in the world of basketball, specifically the
NBA, and lose sight of life in its purest form.
“What a tragic loss; our thoughts and prayers are with their coaching staff, their organization, and their squad. A
very regrettable circumstance. Every time I’ve gotten close to Dejan, there have been grins, giggles, and well wishes.
We are sending them our condolences and prayers since it is heartbreaking.
Milojević died in Salt Lake City early on Wednesday; he was only 47 years old. Moments like this serve as a terrible
reminder of the human side of things, as Ham acknowledges that it’s easy to forget about it during the hectic NBA
schedule.
The fact that a coach who has never met Milojević can only speak well of him speaks volumes about how adored he
is. Such an influence in his four NBA seasons is what he accomplished.
The NBA postponed the Warriors’ final two games, which were scheduled to take place on Friday night against the
Dallas Mavericks and on Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz, because of Milojević’s passing. ESPN was
scheduled to broadcast a nationally televised clash between the Warriors and Mavericks.
Instead, the Lakers’ game against the Brooklyn Nets was shifted to the second half of the doubleheader, which also
included a highly anticipated heavyweight match between the Denver Nuggets and the Boston Celtics.
