SAN FRANCISCO – The Golden State Warriors paid an emotional tribute to Dejan Milojevic on Jan 24, as the team returned to play for the first time since their Serbian assistant coach died on Jan 17 from a heart attack.
In a moving ceremony ahead of the 134-112 National Basketball Association (NBA) home win over the Atlanta Hawks, Golden State head coach Steve Kerr led a lengthy ovation to salute the 46-year-old affectionately known as “Deki”.
Golden State players wore team jerseys emblazoned with Milojevic’s name, while the Serbian national anthem was played in honour of the late coach.
The players then placed their jerseys on Milojevic’s usual seat on the Warriors bench.
The Warriors also wore T-shirts with the word “Brate” – “brother” in Serbian – during the warmup. That gesture was mirrored in Dallas, where Mavericks star Luka Doncic wore the same T-shirt ahead of his team’s clash with the Phoenix Suns.
“The world lost a beautiful soul last week. Deki was a wonderful friend, a hell of a basketball coach, a great man and most importantly, a beautiful grandson, son, husband and father,” Kerr told a hushed Chase Centre crowd.
“What he meant to us is a huge part of who we are. He’s a part of our soul. The outpouring of love that we received this past week from all over the world... is a direct reflection of the joy and love that he brought to everybody he met.
“So tonight, rather than a moment of silence, I’d like for all of us to give Deki an ovation that he can hear up in heaven.”
While several Golden State players appeared to be overcome with emotion during the tributes, with Klay Thompson and Draymond Green both choking back tears, the team were able to rally to victory over Atlanta.
Stephen Curry finished with 25 points, Thompson bagged 24, while Jonathan Kuminga poured in 25 off the bench from a perfect 11-of-11 shooting display.
Curry admitted afterwards that the emotion of the occasion had been challenging.
“It was tough. It’s been a very long week for everybody in our organisation, understanding how we wanted to honour and pay tribute to Deki, and what he meant to our family,” he said.
“It’s tough looking over at his chair. But coach challenged us to utilise all those emotions and get lost in the game. It was weird at first, but this is our sanctuary. We know Deki would like nothing more than to see us go out there and compete as best we can. It feels really good to get a win.”
Milojevic, who played in Spain and Turkey as well as his homeland, where he began his coaching career, joined the Warriors as an assistant in 2021. He was part of the staff on the team that won the NBA championship in 2022.
He died last week after collapsing during a team dinner in Salt Lake City, plunging the Warriors and the NBA community into mourning.
The Warriors will play with a patch bearing Milojevic’s initials – “DM” – on team jerseys for the remainder of the season. A DM logo inside a heart will also remain on the Warriors home court for the rest of the season.
In the Phoenix game, Devin Booker produced another high-scoring gem to help the Suns notch a seventh-straight victory. The guard, who scored 52 points in a victory over New Orleans on Jan 19, finished with 46 points in a 132-109 rout of Doncic’s Mavericks in Texas.
Booker was backed by 20 points from Bradley Beal at the American Airlines Centre, while Grayson Allen had 15 and Kevin Durant 12.
Over at Capital One Arena, the Minnesota Timberwolves returned to winning ways after back-to-back losses with a 118-107 victory over the Washington Wizards.
Anthony Edwards led the Wolves’ scoring with 38 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns had another solid night with 27 points, six rebounds and three assists. AFP
