The NBA has postponed a second Golden State Warriors game in the wake of assistant coach Dejan Milojević’s death, announcing that Friday’s contest against the Dallas Mavericks would be played at a later date.
Milojević, 46, died Wednesday in Salt Lake City after being hospitalized the night before when he suffered a heart attack.
The Warriors’ game scheduled for Wednesday against the Utah Jazz was also postponed prior to the announcement that Milojević had died.
Milojević’s death elicited a massive and immediate outpouring of sympathy from the basketball community, and moments of silence were held Wednesday before NBA games. Mavericks star Luka Doncic was among those to honor Milojević, writing «Rest in peace, Deki» in a social media post.
«You changed my life in such a short time,» Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski wrote on social media. «The most important thing you ever told me was to just smile! Your joy and laughs will forever be missed. Shine down on us from heaven.»
Milojević was in his third season with the Warriors and was part of the team’s 2022 NBA championship. He was a three-time MVP in the Adriatic League before coaching in Serbia, including working with a young Nikola Jokic, and Montenegro and taking summer league stints with multiple NBA teams. The Warriors hired Milojević in 2021.
No date has been announced to make up either postponed game.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.