2004 NBA draft
The 2004 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2004, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and was broadcast live on ESPN at 7:00 pm (EDT). In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players. The NBA announced that 56 college and high school players and 38 international players had filed as early-entry candidates for the 2004 draft. On May 26, the NBA draft lottery was conducted for the teams that did not make the NBA playoffs in the 2003–04 NBA season. The Orlando Magic, who had a 25 percent chance of obtaining the first selection, won the lottery, while the Los Angeles Clippers and the Chicago Bulls were second and third respectively. As an expansion team, the Charlotte Bobcats had been assigned the fourth selection in the draft and did not participate in the lottery. The Minnesota Timberwolves forfeited their first-round pick due to salary cap violations. By the end of the draft, around 40% of the players selected in it were born from countries outside the United States. It would remain the highest influx of international players selected in the modern NBA draft era until the 2016 NBA draft, where almost half of the selected players were born in countries outside the US. In addition, four of the players selected in the draft were Russians, which not only marked the highest number of players born in that region to be taken in one draft, but also was the highest representation of a country other than the US in one draft until 2016 when five Frenchmen would be taken in the draft. The second-overall pick, Emeka Okafor out of Connecticut, the Bobcats' historical first rookie draft pick back when they were considered an expansion franchise, was named Rookie of the Year. Third-overall pick Ben Gordon, also out of Connecticut, earned the Sixth Man of the Year Award, becoming the first rookie in NBA history to do so. Dwight Howard has become an NBA Champion, eight-time All-Star, has received eight All-NBA selections, and a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year awardee. He also had the distinction as the only NBA player straight out of high school to start all 82 games as a rookie. There are also four other players that would be named All-Stars at some point in their careers, and Al Jefferson would be named to an All-NBA team. Andre Iguodala would win four championships with the Golden State Warriors and was named Finals MVP in 2015. The draft is also notable for multiple players coming straight from high school being drafted within a few picks from each other.As of the end of the 2022–23 NBA season, Andre Iguodala was the last remaining active player from the 2004 class. Iguodala announced his retirement in 2023.
| 2004 NBA draft | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date | June 24, 2004 |
| Location | The Theater at Madison Square Garden (New York City, New York) |
| Network | ESPN |
| Overview | |
| 59 total selections in 2 rounds | |
| League | NBA |
| First selection | Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic) |
| Hall of Famers | 1 |
The 2004 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2004, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and was broadcast live on ESPN at 7:00 pm (EDT). In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players. The NBA announced that 56 college and high school players and 38 international players had filed as early-entry candidates for the 2004 draft.[1] On May 26, the NBA draft lottery was conducted for the teams that did not make the NBA playoffs in the 2003–04 NBA season. The Orlando Magic, who had a 25 percent chance of obtaining the first selection, won the lottery, while the Los Angeles Clippers and the Chicago Bulls were second and third respectively. As an expansion team, the Charlotte Bobcats had been assigned the fourth selection in the draft and did not participate in the lottery.[2] The Minnesota Timberwolves forfeited their first-round pick due to salary cap violations.[3]
By the end of the draft, around 40% of the players selected in it were born from countries outside the United States. It would remain the highest influx of international players selected in the modern NBA draft era until the 2016 NBA draft, where almost half of the selected players were born in countries outside the US. In addition, four of the players selected in the draft were Russians, which not only marked the highest number of players born in that region to be taken in one draft, but also was the highest representation of a country other than the US in one draft until 2016 when five Frenchmen would be taken in the draft.
The second-overall pick, Emeka Okafor out of Connecticut, the Bobcats' historical first rookie draft pick back when they were considered an expansion franchise,[4] was named Rookie of the Year. Third-overall pick Ben Gordon, also out of Connecticut, earned the Sixth Man of the Year Award, becoming the first rookie in NBA history to do so.[5]
Dwight Howard has become an NBA Champion, eight-time All-Star, has received eight All-NBA selections, and a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year awardee. He also had the distinction as the only NBA player straight out of high school to start all 82 games as a rookie. There are also four other players that would be named All-Stars at some point in their careers, and Al Jefferson would be named to an All-NBA team. Andre Iguodala would win four championships with the Golden State Warriors and was named Finals MVP in 2015. The draft is also notable for multiple players coming straight from high school being drafted within a few picks from each other.As of the end of the 2022–23 NBA season, Andre Iguodala was the last remaining active player from the 2004 class. Iguodala announced his retirement in 2023.
Draft selections
[edit]| G | Guard | F | Forward | C | Center |
| ^ | Denotes player who has been inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
| * | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game and All-NBA Team |
| + | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game |
| x | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-NBA Team |
| # | Denotes player who has never appeared in an NBA regular-season or playoff game |
| ~ | Denotes player who has been selected as Rookie of the Year |
.jpg)
Notable undrafted players
[edit]These players not selected in the draft have played at least one game in the NBA.
| Player | Position | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pero Antić | C |  Macedonia
|
AEK Athens (Greece) 1982 |
| Andre Barrett | PG |  United States
|
Seton Hall (Sr.) |
| Tony Bobbitt | SG | United States
|
Cincinnati (Sr.) |
| Andre Brown | C/PF | United States
|
DePaul (Sr.) |
| Jackie Butler | C/PF | United States
|
Coastal Christian Academy (Virginia Beach, Virginia) (HS Sr.) |
| Erik Daniels | SF | United States
|
Kentucky (Sr.) |
| John Edwards | C | United States
|
Kent State (Sr.) |
| Desmon Farmer | SG | United States
|
USC (Sr.) |
| Gerald Fitch | SG | United States
|
Kentucky (Sr.) |
| Hamed Haddadi | C |  Iran
|
Paykan Tehran (Iran) 1985 |
| Renaldo Major | SF | United States
|
Fresno State (Sr.) |
| Jared Reiner | C | United States
|
Iowa (Sr.) |
| James Thomas | PF | United States
|
Texas (Sr.) |
| Damien Wilkins | SF | United States
|
Georgia (Sr.) |
Early entrants
[edit]College underclassmen
[edit]After seeing a couple of years where they missed the previous year of 75 underclassmen testing their early entry in 2001, this year saw an at the time record-high 92 players declare their initial entry into this year's draft. However, this year also saw an at the time record high 52 underclassmen from college, overseas, or high school withdraw their names from the draft, thus leaving only 40 total underclassmen officially declaring their entry into the NBA draft. The following college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[42]
- Chris Acker – G, Chaminade (sophomore)
- Trevor Ariza – G/F, UCLA (freshman)
- Brandon Bender – F, Robert Morris (junior)
- Evan Burns – F, San Diego State (freshman)
- Josh Childress – F/G, Stanford (junior)
- Cortez Davis – F, Midland College (sophomore)
Luol Deng – F, Duke (freshman)- / Ben Gordon – G, Connecticut (junior)
- Devin Harris – G, Wisconsin (junior)
- David Harrison – C, Colorado (junior)
- JaQuan Hart – G, Eastern Michigan (junior)
- Kris Humphries – F, Minnesota (freshman)
Sani Ibrahim – F, Gulf Coast CC (sophomore)- Andre Iguodala – F, Arizona (sophomore)
- Kevin Martin – G, Western Carolina (junior)
- Emeka Okafor – F, Connecticut (junior)
- Randy Orr – C, Georgia Perimeter (sophomore)
- Jason Parker – F, Chipola (junior)
- Donta Smith – F/G, Southeastern Illinois (sophomore)
- Kirk Snyder – G, Nevada (junior)
- Harvey Thomas – F, Baylor (junior)
- Delonte West – G, St. Joseph's (junior)
High school players
[edit]This would be the tenth straight year in a row where at least one high school player would declare their entry into the NBA draft directly out of high school after previously only allowing it one time back in 1975. It would also be famous for marking the third (and currently final) time that a #1 pick was selected directly out of high school. This year also saw players like LaMarcus Aldridge, Jermaine Bell, Ivan Chiriaev, and Maurice Shaw all initially declare entry for this year's draft, but ultimately withdraw from it and decide to enter college instead. The following high school players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[42]
- Jackie Butler – F, Coastal Christian Academy (Virginia Beach, Virginia)
- Dwight Howard – C, Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy (Atlanta, Georgia)
- Al Jefferson – F, Prentiss HS (Prentiss, Mississippi)
- Shaun Livingston – G, Peoria HS (Peoria, Illinois)
- J. R. Smith – G, St. Benedict's Prep (Newark, New Jersey)
- Josh Smith – F, Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia)
- Robert Swift – C, Bakersfield HS (Bakersfield, California)
- Dorell Wright – G/F, South Kent (South Kent, Connecticut)
- Sebastian Telfair – G, Lincoln HS (Brooklyn, New York)
International players
[edit]The following international players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[42]
Andris Biedriņš – F, Skonto (Latvia)- Hamed Haddadi – C, Paykan Tehran (Iran)
Arturas Kaubrys – F, Neptūnas (Lithuania)
Sergei Monia – G/F, CSKA Moscow (Russia)- Pavel Podkolzin – C, Metis Varese (Italy)
Peter John Ramos – C, Criollos de Caguas (Puerto Rico)- Jaber Rouzbahani – C, Zob Ahan Isfahan (Iran)
Ha Seung-jin – C, Yonsei University (South Korea)
Jerry Sokoloski – C, Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary (Canada)
Sasha Vujačić – G, Snaidero Udine (Italy)
Automatically eligible entrants
[edit]Players who do not meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria:
- They have no remaining college eligibility.
- If they graduated from high school in the U.S., but did not enroll in a U.S. college or university, four years have passed since their high school class graduated.
- They have signed a contract with a professional basketball team not in the NBA, anywhere in the world, and have played under the contract.
Players who meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria:
- They are at least 22 years old during the calendar year of the draft. In term of dates players born on or before December 31, 1982, were automatically eligible for the 2004 draft.
- They have signed a contract with a professional basketball team not in the NBA within the United States, and have played under that contract.
| Player | Team | Note | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
 Adam Caporn
|
Wollongong Hawks (Australia) | Left Saint Mary's in 2003; playing professionally since the 2003–04 season | [43] |
Notes and references
[edit]- ^ "Early Entry Candidates Announced For 2004 NBA Draft". NBA. Archived from the original on February 2, 2008. Retrieved May 26, 2007.
- ^ "2004 NBA Draft Lottery: How It Works". NBA. Archived from the original on March 16, 2008. Retrieved May 24, 2007.
- ^ "NBA Punishes Timberwolves for Secret Deal with Smith". NBA. Archived from the original on May 16, 2007. Retrieved May 24, 2007.
- ^ "Bobcats Select Emeka Okafor As First-Ever Rookie Draft Pick". NBA. Archived from the original on February 3, 2008. Retrieved May 24, 2007.
- ^ "Bulls' Gordon first rookie to win NBA Sixth Man Award – Basketball – CBC". Canada: CBC. May 3, 2005. Archived from the original on October 18, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
- ^ a b c The Clippers traded No. 2 pick to the Bobcats for No. 4 and No. 33 picks on June 21, 2004. The Bobcats agreed to select Predrag Drobnjak from the Clippers in the Expansion Selection.
"Bobcats deal with Clippers, move up to No. 2". USA Today. June 22, 2004. Archived from the original on May 23, 2011. Retrieved May 23, 2007. - ^ Gordon is eligible to play in FIBA competition for either the United States or Great Britain. Additionally, he can play for England in the Commonwealth Games. He was born in London, England and then emigrated to Mount Vernon, New York, USA.
"Hey, Ben, U.K. wants you". Chicago Sun-Times. April 13, 2007. Archived from the original on August 30, 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2007. - ^ The Wizards traded the draft rights to Devin Harris along with Christian Laettner, and Jerry Stackhouse to the Mavericks for Antawn Jamison and cash considerations on the draft day.
"Mavs Trade Antawn Jamison to Washington". NBA. Archived from the original on April 15, 2007. Retrieved May 23, 2007. - ^ Born in what is now South Sudan, Luol Deng became a naturalized British citizen in 2006 and played for Great Britain in international competitions.
- ^ a b The Suns traded the No. 7 pick to the Bulls for a second-round pick (No. 31) and $3 million in cash on the draft day.
"Suns trade draft pick". Associated Press. June 24, 2004. - ^ The Knicks traded this pick along with Antonio McDyess, Howard Eisley, Charlie Ward, Maciej Lampe, the rights to Miloš Vujanić and a future first-round pick (protected through 2010) to the Suns for Stephon Marbury, Penny Hardaway and Cezary Trybanski on January 5, 2004.
Sheridan, Chris (January 5, 2004). "Marbury traded to Knicks". Associated Press.
The Suns traded this pick along with Tom Gugliotta, a future first-round pick (acquired from New York and is protected through 2010) and cash considerations to the Jazz for Keon Clark and Ben Handlogten on February 19, 2004.
"Jazz send Clark, Handlogten to Suns for Gugliotta". Associated Press. February 19, 2004. - ^ The Bucks traded this pick along with Scott Williams to the Nuggets for Kevin Willis and Aleksandar Radojević on October 22, 2001. As part of the trade, the Bucks traded Kevin Willis to the Rockets for a future second-round pick (No. 39 in the 2006 NBA draft).
"Bucks trade Williams". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved May 24, 2007.
The Nuggets traded this pick along with Don Reid and Mengke Bateer to the Pistons for Rodney White on October 1, 2002.
"Rodney White traded to Nuggets". Canada: CBC. October 1, 2002. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2007. - ^ a b The Pistons traded the No. 25 pick along with Chucky Atkins and Lindsey Hunter to the Celtics; and Bobby Sura and Željko Rebrača and the No. 17 pick (received from the Bucks) to the Hawks. In return, the Pistons received Mike James from the Celtics and Rasheed Wallace from the Hawks. The Celtics also traded Chris Mills to the Hawks. The trade was announced on February 19, 2004.
Golen, Jimmy (February 19, 2004). "Celtics get Atkins, Hunter draft pick for James". Associated Press. - ^ The Nuggets traded the draft rights of Jameer Nelson to the Magic for a future first-round pick (#20 in 2005 NBA draft) on the draft day.
"Magic Obtain Draft Rights to Jameer Nelson". NBA. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2007. - ^ a b The Rockets traded the No. 21 pick along with Glen Rice and two future second-round draft picks (from Chicago; No. 51 in the 2005 NBA draft and No. 46 in the 2006 NBA draft) to the Jazz for John Amaechi and the No. 55 pick (received from Sacramento in the Keon Clark trade) on September 30, 2003.
"Jazz trade John Amaechi". Utah Jazz. NBA. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2007. - ^ The Jazz traded the rights to Pavel Podkolzine to the Mavericks for a future first-round pick (#27 in the 2005 NBA draft) on the draft day.
"Jazz Draft Three; Trade One". NBA. Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved May 24, 2007. - ^ The Nets traded the draft rights to Viktor Khryapa to the Trail Blazers for Eddie Gill and cash considerations on the draft day.
"Nets trade 22nd pick overall to Portland". ESPN. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2007. - ^ The Grizzlies traded this pick along with Wesley Person to the Trail Blazers for Bonzi Wells on December 3, 2003.
"Bonzi on the Move". NBA. Archived from the original on April 26, 2007. Retrieved May 24, 2007. - ^ The Mavericks traded this pick along with Raef LaFrentz, Jiří Welsch, and Chris Mills to the Celtics for Antoine Walker and Tony Delk on October 20, 2003.
Springer, Shira (October 21, 2003). "Celtics deal Walker to Dallas". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on December 31, 2008. Retrieved May 24, 2007. - ^ "NBA Restores Timberwolves' 2005 Draft Pick". NBA. Archived from the original on September 1, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
- ^ The Magic traded the draft rights to Anderson Varejão along with Drew Gooden and Steven Hunter to the Cavaliers for Tony Battie and two future second-round draft picks (No. 44 in the 2005 NBA draft and No. 54 in the 2007 NBA draft) on July 23, 2004.
"Magic Acquire Tony Battie, Picks from Cleveland". Orlando Magic. NBA. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2007. - ^ Donta Smith represented Venezuela in international competitions later in his career starting in 2013.
- ^ The Clippers traded this pick to the SuperSonics for Predrag Drobnjak on September 29, 2003.
"Clippers trade for centre Drobnjak". Canada: CBC. September 30, 2003. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2007. - ^ The SuperSonics traded this pick to the Grizzlies for a 2005 second-round draft pick (No. 48) and cash considerations on draft day.
"Grizzlies sign Emmett, Burks to two-year deals". Associated Press. July 7, 2004. - ^ The Suns traded this pick to the Magic for Donnell Harvey on December 23, 2003.
"Suns get Harvey in trade with Magic". Associated Press. December 23, 2003. - ^ The Magic traded this pick to the Grizzlies for cash considerations on the draft day.
"Grizzlies sign Emmett, Burks to two-year deals". Associated Press. July 7, 2004. - ^ The 76ers traded this pick along with the 2006 second-round pick (#42) to the Hawks for Efthimios Rentzias on June 26, 2002.
"Sixers Trade Two Future Second round Picks For Rights To Efthimios Rentzias". NBA. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2007. - ^ The Raptors traded this pick to the Bulls for a 2003 second-round pick (#45 pick) on June 26, 2003.
Gray, Kevin (June 27, 2003). "Toronto trades for Bonner". The Union Leader. - ^ The Cavaliers traded this pick along with Lamond Murray to the Raptors for Michael Stewart and a future first-round pick (#22 in the 2007 NBA draft) on September 26, 2002.
"Cavaliers Trade Murray to Raptors". The Washington Post. September 26, 2002. - ^ a b The Raptors traded the draft rights to Albert Miralles to the Heat for the draft rights of Pape Sow and the 2005 second-round pick (#58) on the draft day.
"HEAT Acquire Draft Rights to Albert Miralles & Select Matt Freije in Second round of 2004 NBA Draft". Miami Heat. NBA. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2007. - ^ The Warriors traded this pick to the 76ers for Jiří Welsch on June 26, 2002. The 76ers traded this pick along with Monty Williams and cash considerations to the Magic for a conditional second-round pick on December 23, 2003.
"Sixers trade Monty Williams to Magic for draft pick". Associated Press. December 23, 2003.
The Magic traded this pick to the Hawks for Anthony Johnson on February 24, 2000.
Sheridan, Chris (February 24, 2000). "Only one minor deal as trading deadline passes". Associated Press. - ^ The Hawks traded the draft rights to Viktor Sanikidze to the Spurs for a future second round draft pick (#59 in the 2005 NBA draft) and cash considerations on the draft day.
"Spurs Acquire Sanikidze from Atlanta". San Antonio Spurs. NBA. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2009. - ^ The Bucks traded this pick to the Bobcats for Zaza Pachulia on June 23, 2004.
"'Cats wheel, deal hope for Okafor". USA Today. June 23, 2004. Archived from the original on February 11, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2007. - ^ a b The Kings traded No. 55 along with Keon Clark and a 2007 second-round pick to the Jazz for the No. 48 pick on August 5, 2003.
"Kings Trade Keon Clark". Sacramento Kings. NBA. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2007. - ^ The Nuggets traded this pick to the Magic for Don Reid and a future first-round pick (#22 in the 2006 NBA draft) on August 1, 2002.
"Nuggets acquire F Don Reid". Associated Press. August 1, 2002.
The Magic traded this pick along with Mike Miller, Ryan Humphrey, and a first-round pick (#27 in the 2003 NBA draft) to the Grizzlies for Drew Gooden, Gordan Giricek and cash considerations on February 19, 2003.
"Magic ship Miller to Grizzlies". Canada: CBC. February 21, 2003. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2007. - ^ The Rockets traded this pick to the Nuggets and Kenny Thomas to the 76ers; the Nuggets traded James Posey to the Rockets; the 76ers traded a first-round pick (#16 in the 2005 NBA draft) along with Art Long and Mark Bryant to the Nuggets in a three-team deal on December 18, 2002.
"76ers get Thomas, Posey to Rockets in three-team deal". Agence France-Presse. December 19, 2002.
The Nuggets traded this pick to the Mavericks for a second-round pick (#57 pick in 2003 NBA draft) on June 26, 2003.
"Xue Yuyang Joins Denver After Dallas Draft". China Internet Information Center. June 28, 2003. Archived from the original on October 17, 2007. Retrieved May 25, 2007. - ^ a b The Rockets traded the draft rights to Luis Flores and cash considerations to the Mavericks for the draft rights to Vasileios Spanoulis on the draft day.
"Rockets Trade for Spanoulis in 2004 NBA Draft". Houston Rockets. NBA. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2009. - ^ The Grizzlies traded this pick to the Spurs for the rights to Gordan Giricek on June 28, 2002.
"Grizzlies sign Croatian guard". Associated Press. July 17, 2002. - ^ The Mavericks traded this pick to the Heat for Tim Hardaway on August 22, 2001.
"Mavs Acquire Hardaway from Heat". NBA. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2007. - ^ The Mavericks traded the draft rights to Luis Flores along with Christian Laettner, Eduardo Nájera, the rights to Mladen Šekularac, two future first-round draft picks and cash considerations to the Warriors for Erick Dampier, Evan Eschmeyer and the rights to Steve Logan on August 24, 2004.
"Mavs Complete Trade with Golden State". NBA. Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2009. - ^ Marcus Douthit represented Venezuela in international competitions later in his career starting in 2011, but was a US citizen at the time of the draft.
- ^ a b c "2004 Underclassmen". The Draft Review. August 4, 2007. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ "Adam Caporn Bio". Saint Mary's College of California. May 27, 2011. Archived from the original on May 20, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- "NBA.com Draft 2004". NBA. Archived from the original on April 20, 2007. Retrieved April 20, 2007.
- "Player profiles with their career transaction information". NBA. Archived from the original on April 19, 2007. Retrieved April 20, 2007.
External links
[edit]- 2004 NBA Draft Archived May 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine