What happened to Dejan Milojevic? Golden State Warriors assistant coach health issue explored

The Golden State Warriors are dealing with the health issue of Dejan Milojevic, one of their coaching staff members. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, assistant coach Milojevic was hospitalized on Tuesday after suffering a health issue at a restaurant in Salt Lake City. The reports said the players and coaches were dining together when the incident occurred.

Milojevic and the Warriors were in Salt Lake City before Wednesday's road game against the Utah Jazz. Per BNN, the 46-year-old Serbian coach suffered a heart attack and had to be hospitalized. It appears that his condition is stable. The franchise has yet to provide a statement on Dejan Milojevic's condition.

What career did Dejan Milojevic have in basketball?

Dejan Milojevic spent 15 years as a player in Serbia, Spain and Turkey. He had a successful stint with Partizan, where he was the MVP of the Adriatic League for three straight years (2004-2006) and the top scorer in consecutive years (2005, 2006).

He retired in 2009 and became a coach three years later, in 2012. He spent nine years between Mega Basket and Buducnost, claiming the Serbian Cup and the Montenegrin League.

Since 2021, he has been part of the Golden State Warriors coaching staff and won the NBA championship in 2022, when the Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics in six games.

Dejan Milojevic has the task of working with big men and improving their skills on both ends. In the Warriors, he has worked with James Wiseman and Kevon Looney, as well as four-time champion Draymond Green.

"I learned a lot from Deki," Lonney said about Milojevic, via Vijesti. "Primarily when it comes to the jump and setting it up at different angles. Then there's the offensive jump. I've always been good at that element, but I never looked at it as a science - until he showed me the real details."

Kevon Looney has appeared in all 40 Warriors games this season and averages 5.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game as a starting center.

"Dejan is fantastic, he is a great reinforcement for us," Golden State coach Steve Kerr said on Milojevic. "He has an incredible basketball story behind him - both as a player and as a coach. It was kind of logical that we brought him. He has meant a lot to me over the last few years, it has been great to watch him develop as a coach."

It is unclear how long Milojevic will stay away from the team to recover from the reported heart attack he suffered, but we should expect him to return to the bench soon.

Meanwhile, the Warriors want to get back on track, as they have lost two in a row and are 12th with 18 wins and 12 losses. Golden State has won three of its last 10 matchups and is one and a half games behind the LA Lakers (20-21), who hold the final play-in spot.