The NBA world is in mourning after the sudden passing of Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic on Wednesday.
Milojevic died from a heart attack at the age of 46.
Toronto Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic was close friends with Milojevic and grew up with him in Serbia.
"I knew Dejan since I was a teenager," Rajakovic said before Wednesday's game. "He was a role model as a player, as a man, as a husband, as a coach — somebody that I really admired and have a lot of respect for.
"This is a really sad day for the whole NBA community."
Rajakovic said coaching was something Milojevic loved to do after retiring from playing, and that his career included coaching Nikola Jokic and other NBA players in Serbia. The Raptors coach said his friend dreamed of one day coaching the Serbian national team.
"He was such a big influence on young people," Rajakovic said. "Unfortunately he's not with us anymore to share dreams and goals."
After the game, an emotional Rajakovic revealed that the play the Raptors ran on their first possession of the game was one designed by Milojevic. The play ended with Gary Trent Jr. sinking a three-pointer, his first points of a game-high 28 on the night.
"I told my guys that I loved them," Rajakovic said after the game as tears appeared in his eyes. "Opening play in the game... Decky my friend, I learned that play from him and that's what he brought to the NBA, that's what he brought to Golden State. I stole that play from him and that was our opening play tonight and we were able to score on that one.
"I dedicated this team win to our team and to Decky."
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