SAN FRANCISCO — There's no right or wrong way for the Golden State Warriors to resume their season following the shocking death of beloved assistant coach Dejan Milojevic.

Monday marks not even a week since “Deki,” as the late Serbian legend is known in basketball circles and to family and friends, suffered a heart attack while dining with Warriors players and coaches at a restaurant in Salt Lake City. His death was announced the following morning, sending Golden State and the hoops world at large into a state of stunning, sudden grief.

The NBA postponed the Warriors' scheduled games against the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks in wake of Milojevic's passing, affording them necessary time to mourn the loss of a Serbian basketball legend and larger-than-life personality who Steve Kerr says “embodied the spirit and values” his team strives to bring to the fore every day.

Grieving Warriors forge on while remembering ‘Deki'

Warriors assistant Dejan Milojevic has passed away.

Golden State's first official team activity since Milojevic's death, a casual shootaround at Chase Center, came Sunday. Media availability was abruptly cancelled barely 90 minutes before Kerr and the Dubs were supposed to take the podium, an indication of just how raw and fragile their collective state of being remains as Wednesday's home matchup with the Atlanta Hawks LOOMS.

That emotion was palpable on Monday, when Kerr and Kevon Looney—Dario Saric, especially close with Deki and his family, was slated to speak but “wasn't ready”—addressed reporters for the first time without Milojevic as part of the team. Asked how Golden State could possibly get back to playing basketball at its highest level as the grieving process continues, Kerr explained how Milojevic's unique voice would remain a motivating force for the Warriors.

“I lean on [longtime assistant] Ron Adams for so much. Ron, he's been a mentor for me, obviously an amazing coach for all of our players and coaches. I lean on him for wisdom and I asked him a couple days ago, ‘How do we go on from here? What do we do?',” Kerr recalled. “And Ron thought for a second and he said, ‘It's relatively simple. You ask the guys, ‘What would Deki want us to do?' And I thought about it and I literally could picture Deki smiling and laughing and saying, ‘You motherf***ers need to go win a basketball game!' and then laughing.”

A three-time Adriatic League MVP during his playing days, Milojevic was hired as the Warriors' de facto big man coach before the 2021-22 season after helping countryman Nikola Jokic emerge as one of the greatest players in NBA history. His all-around impact on Looney was especially notable, one that Golden State's stalwart veteran will continue carrying across his life going forward.

“He was always a positive person. Came in, even when he had a down day he wouldn’t show it. Super positive, always fully of energy. He was a nice guy, but wasn’t a nice guy,” Looney said. chuckling. “Like I said, he was always honest, he was always truthful. He’s someone I could always go to saying, ‘Hey man, what you think about this?’ On and off the court, he would always have advice for me. That’s something I wanna be able to do, is come into work and be that same positive, joyful energy.”

There's no ignoring, deflecting or putting aside what Milojevic's death means to the Warriors. The 46-year-old husband and father of two touched the roster and coaching staff from top to bottom, ingratiating himself to all corners and crannies of the franchise simply by being himself.

“Everybody was close with Deki,” Kerr said. “It was impossible not to be.”

The Warriors will honor Milojevic before Wednesday's game on a night Kerr knows will be “unbelievably emotional.” Details of the team's memorial plans aren't readily available, but don't expect them to commence lacking Deki's trademark blend of warmth, humor and frank positivity.

It's impossible to separate sadness from grief. Golden State, clearly, isn't operating under any delusion otherwise. But through that sorrow and anguish still shines Milojevic's unmistakable light, manifested as much in the form of profanity-laced, jocular motivation as the “joyful and compassionate” manner in which he approached coaching—and far more importantly, life—every day.

“Sorry for the language, but I just wanted to share exactly what my vision of Deki [is]. That's exactly what he would've said, with a smile on his face, he would've laughed,” Kerr continued, recalling his image of Milojevic. “He would've, win or lose, still been smiling and laughing and having great suggestions for what we could do differently. He really embodied the spirit and the values that we try to display as a team and as an organization. We are unbelievably competitive, joyful and compassionate to each other. We're gonna do everything we can to win and we're gonna enjoy life no matter what. That's who he was and that's how we're gonna continue.”