Last week the basketball world was shocked by the sudden passing of Dejan Milojevic. At the time of his death, Milojevic was an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors.

Milojevic played professionally from 1994 until his retirement in 2009. After his retirement, Milojevic became the head coach for Mega Basket of the Adriatic Basketball Association (ABA.) During his time with Mega Basket, Milojevic would coach future NBA and Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic. In addition to his club coaching, Milojevic had some assistant coaching stints with the Serbian national team, which Jokic was also a member of. Under Milojevic, the Joker would win MVP of the ABA.

Needless to say, Milojevic and Jokic spent extensive time together and established quite a friendship. Milojevic also established himself as a highly respected coach in the ABA and NBA.

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After Dejan Milojevic's passing was announced, Nikola Jokic stayed relatively quiet on the situation. The Nuggets star has been perceived to be relatively emotionless, but the week after Milojevic's passing has undoubtedly been a hard time for him. However, Jokic requests privacy regarding the situation.

“I don't want to make a circus of it,” said Jokic, via the Denver Post. “My whole family was shocked. … I love his whole family.”

Despite the loss, Jokic has been carrying himself with poise and professionalism, something that even his teammates have noticed.

“That's greatness,” teammate Aaron Gordon said. “… I know he’s going through a hard time. I just want him to know that he’s appreciated for going through it, and (that) he knows we’ve got him in tough times. He’s just — he’s great.”