Record crowd honors Dejan Milojevic in Belgrade

Dejan Milojevic, the late assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors, was so revered in Serbia that record numbers attended a

pregame ceremony in his honor before the game.

A memorial game for Milojevic, the Warriors assistant coach who passed away last week at the age of 46 from a heart attack, drew an

estimated 23,000 spectators. The match between Partizan Belgrade and Mega MIS, two teams directly linked to the Serbian legend

known as “Deki,” was free to enter, and the gym was entirely full one hour before the game started.

As a player, Milojevic spent two seasons with Partizan, winning the Adriatic League MVP in both of those years. (He also won the

previous season with Montenegrin team Budućnost) After his playing career, Deki spent eight years as the head coach of Mega, where

he coached Nikola Jokic and turned the team into a pipeline to the NBA Draft.

The huge crowd clapped and chanted for minutes on end before the game, as well as lighting flares next to a huge mural of Milojevic.

It demonstrated how passionate it is to watch live basketball in Serbia and was a moving and potent remembrance to the late player

and coach. No one is looking about for pyrotechnics and flares.

On Monday, Coach Steve Kerr talked about his friend and coworker while sporting a shirt that said “Brother” in Serbian.

“It’s just the saddest thing I’ve ever been a part of in the NBA,” Kerr told reporters. He added, “We watched as a team this morning the

event they had in Serbia…I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything like the pregame dedication from the fans and the organizations there to

Deki. It was incredible. We got a better sense of what Deki meant to his countrymen, and of course what he meant to us.”

Overall it’s been a “devastating week” for the Warriors, for Milojevic’s family, and for Serbian basketball fans everywhere. But if

anyone doubted how special he was to the fans in Belgrade, Monday’s incredible ceremony made it unmistakably clear.