Warriors, Hawks together honour beloved Golden State assistant coach Milojevic

Warriors, Hawks together honour beloved Golden State assistant coach Milojevic

Warriors, Hawks together honour beloved Golden State assistant coach Milojevic

AP SAN FRANCISCO — The Serbian national anthem was played in Dejan Milojević’s honor while the Golden State Warriors and

Atlanta Hawks stood together on one sideline close to their respective team benches.

After that, each Warrior player took a coaching chair and placed an extra jersey with Milojević’s name on the back that they had worn

during warmups. The coaching chair also had a special black T-shirt with the word “BRATE” draped over it; the term “brate” means

“brother” in Serbian, which is how their coach referred to them all.

For the first time since losing its cherished assistant coach last week in Salt Lake City, Golden State took to the court. During a team

meal on Tuesday night, Milojević had a heart attack and passed away the next day.

A tribute film aired on the main screen, and pictures of a grinning “Deki,” as they affectionately called him, could be found all across Chase Center.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr was standing directly next to two Hawks players when he talked about how much of an impact Milojević

had on everyone he met. Belgrade native Bogdan Bogdanovic, a guard for Atlanta, was a member of Milojević’s previous Partizan

squad. Igor Kokoskov, the assistant coach of the Hawks, coached the Serbian national team and brought Milojević on board.

A long standing ovation, which Kerr asked instead of a moment of silence, encircled Milojević′s wife, Natasa, clutching a bouquet of flowers, and their children, Masa and Nikola.

Kerr loved Milojević’s smile and all the pictures that showed how well he was portrayed.

“That smile is flawless. He laughed and smiled all the time, according to Kerr.

After his passing last Wednesday, the Warriors postponed their scheduled home game against Dallas on Friday and their games

against the Jazz. They finally started practicing again on Monday.

They now sport patches with the coach’s initials, DM, enclosed in a heart. The Chase Center court features the same logo as well.

“Even just entering the building on a gaming night without Deki makes me feel very upset. Of course we’re all wearing our shirts, and

there are pictures of him grinning constantly,” Kerr remarked. Because everything is still so raw and weird in many ways, it’s highly

emotional. The last several days have been spent practicing, so there’s not much to say to be ready for something like this. You just get

right in, stay united, and attempt to commemorate our brother by winning a basketball game.

Quin Snyder, the Hawks coach, commended Kerr for his bravery and leadership in the midst of such a tragic event, saying he has been

doing everything in his power to help both of the men he supports.

“You are able to sense the anguish and the emotion. They’ve both been really stoic, but it’s easy to see how deeply they’re grieving,

according to Snyder. “It’s nice for those guys to be able to join in on this evening’s celebration of Deki’s life, in some ways, and to be

here tonight.” For them to know how close they were to us as well.

“As I have stated, it is undeniable that they are experiencing this on a personal, unique level. distinct from the Warriors squad, their

coaches, and their entire setup, but since those individuals are Serbian, they have a special bond in this particular situation.

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