In Dejan Milojevic's first game back after his death, the Warriors paid a fitting tribute to their late assistant coach.
Milojevic died last week after suffering a heart attack at a Golden State team dinner.
He was 46 years old.
After a two-game hiatus following Milojevic's death, the Warriors returned to practice on Monday and prepared for their first home game by honoring Milojevic before facing the Hawks at Chase Center on Wednesday.
Before the game started, the players stood up and put on jerseys with Milojevic's last name written on the back, while a shirt with the word “Brate”, which means “brother in Serbian”, was hung on one of the seats. A rose was drawn next to it.
As the Serbian national anthem was sung and a video tribute was played, head coach Steve Kerr had some harsh words for his former assistant.
Last week, the world lost a beautiful soul,” Kerr said. “Deki was a great friend, a great basketball coach, a great person, and most importantly, a beautiful grandson, son, husband, and father. The mark that he left on our organization, you just saw all the pictures, it was him every day. The smile, the joy, the laughter, it was always there. And what he meant to us. , was a big part of who we are.
“He's part of our soul.”
Kerr thanked the Warriors for all the support they've given him over the past week, which has been a trying time for the team.
After paying tribute to Milojevic's wife Natasa and children Masa and Nicola, Kerr asked fans in attendance not to observe a moment of silence, but to cheer as loudly as possible to pay their respects to the late coach. I called out.
As the ceremony drew to a close, Warriors players fought back tears as they placed their ceremonial jerseys in the arena where Milojevic had been sitting.
Their game jerseys will feature the initials DM, further paying homage to Milojevic, who joined the Warriors in 2021 and won the NBA Finals with the team in 2022.
