Steve Kerr to Miss Warriors vs. Jazz After Attending Dejan Milojević's Funeral

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr will miss Monday's game against the Utah Jazz after traveling to Serbia to attend the funeral for former assistant coach Dejan Milojević.

Kenny Atkinson will take over as the acting head coach for the time being.

According to the Associated Press, services for Milojević were held Monday in Belgrade.

Milojević died Jan. 17 after suffering a heart attack during a team dinner the previous night in Salt Lake City.

"We are absolutely devastated by Dejan's sudden passing," Kerr said in a statement at the time. "This is a shocking and tragic blow for everyone associated with the Warriors and an incredibly difficult time for his family, friends, and all of us who had the incredible pleasure to work with him."

The 46-year-old had joined Golden State's staff ahead of the 2021-22 season. Before that, he had a long spell at Serbian team Mega Basket, where he coached a young Nikola Jokić. He had also been an assistant for the Serbia national team under Igor Kokoškov.

Before going into coaching, Milojević was a legendary figure within Serbian basketball as a player. He was a three-time MVP in the Adriatic League, and ESPN's Jackie MacMullan wrote in a 2020 profile he had been compared to Charles Barkley.

Kerr detailed in April 2023 how Milojević's reputation preceded him before the Warriors hired him:

It's unclear when Kerr will be back on the Warriors bench. Golden State starts the first half of a back-to-back Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers before again hitting the road to play the Jazz on Thursday. The latter contest was rescheduled from Jan. 17 after getting postponed in the aftermath of Milojević's death.