[Katy Winge] Coach Malone on the passing of Dejan Milojević. Malone said he was talking with Steve Kerr, and Kerr wanted him to know how much Deki loved Nikola Jokić and how proud he was of him.

Transcript of his full comments below. What a touching and thoughtful sentiment on Steve’s part to have the presence of mind in that moment to want to provide solace to Jokic by making sure he was reaffirmed in how much he meant to Deki and how loved he was by him.

>”He was a close friend of Nikola’s, Olgie, obviously the Serbian basketball community, Deki meant a lot to a lot of people. Left behind an amazing legacy. He impacted lives, and it’s just tragic at that young age for him to have that.
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>When we knew he was in the hospital, I reached out to Steve Kerr, and he got right back to me. He was at the hospital with Deki and his family, and when he ultimately passed, Steve let me know that he had passed, and he wanted me to know that Deki **LOVED** Nikola and how proud he was of him. And that’s what I just tried to share with Nikola. I just went through this with my father, losing somebody you care about is really hard, and the most important thing for Nikola to know is that Deki did love him, and now it’s up to Nikola to carry on his legacy on the court, off the court, how he lives, and to make sure that Deki’s name is just continued to be talked about. It’s unfortunate, and we all just have been thinking about Deki and his family, and the whole Warriors staff.”

by taygads