On January 17, the NBA community lost one of its beloved members, Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic. After falling ill during a team dinner in Utah, the 46-year-old was taken to a hospital in Salt Lake City, where he took his final breath. To honour the veteran coach, every member of the Warriors franchise wore T-shirts with Dejan’s initials and the word “BRATE” on the chest for the entire season. But tonight, paying a silent tribute to Dejan, the same T-shirt was worn by Nuggets star Nikola Jokic while he made an appearance on Inside The NBA to receive his third MVP trophy.
Although Jokic and Milojevic did not cross paths in the NBA, they shared a deep connection long before Nikola Jokic became The Joker. Both coming from Serbia, Milojevic was a mentor and coach to Jokic when he was just a teenager and trying to find his ways in the basketball world. Coaching the Serbian team Mega Basket in the Adriatic Basketball League from 2012 to 2020, Dejan took Jokic under his wing in 2012 and coached him till he made it to the NBA.
(Developing Story)