Editing 2004 NBA draft (section)

{{short description|Basketball player selection}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Infobox sports draft
| name     = 2004 NBA draft
| image    = 
| caption  = 
| logo     = 2004 NBA Draft logo.png
| logosize = 180px
| sport    = Basketball
| date     = June 24, 2004
| location = [[The Theater at Madison Square Garden]] ([[New York City, New York]])
| network  = [[NBA on ESPN|ESPN]]
| league   = NBA
| teams    = 
| overall  = 59
| rounds   = 2
| first    = [[Dwight Howard]] ([[Orlando Magic]])
| hofnum   = {{Collapsible list
| title = 1
|1 = C [[Dwight Howard]]}}
| prev     = [[2003 NBA draft|2003]]
| next     = [[2005 NBA draft|2005]]
}}
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&nbsp;pm ([[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]]). In this [[NBA draft|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 [[2004–05 NBA season|2004]] draft.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nba.com/bobcats/news/draft_central_early_candidates.html |title=Early Entry Candidates Announced For 2004 NBA Draft |access-date=May 26, 2007 |publisher=NBA |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080202235714/http://www.nba.com/bobcats/news/draft_central_early_candidates.html |archive-date=February 2, 2008 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nba.com/features/lottery2004_details.html |title=2004 NBA Draft Lottery: How It Works |access-date=May 24, 2007 |publisher=NBA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316005335/http://www.nba.com/features/lottery2004_details.html |archive-date=March 16, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Minnesota Timberwolves]] forfeited their first-round pick due to [[salary cap]] violations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nba.com/news/smith_wolves_001025.html |title=NBA Punishes Timberwolves for Secret Deal with Smith |access-date=May 24, 2007 |publisher=NBA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070516012520/http://www.nba.com/news/smith_wolves_001025.html |archive-date=May 16, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

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 [[France|Frenchmen]] would be taken in the draft.

The second-overall pick, [[Emeka Okafor]] out of [[UConn Huskies men's basketball|Connecticut]], the Bobcats' historical first rookie draft pick back when they were considered an expansion franchise,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nba.com/bobcats/news/draft_okafor_062404.html |title=Bobcats Select Emeka Okafor As First-Ever Rookie Draft Pick |access-date=May 24, 2007 |publisher=NBA |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080203024923/http://www.nba.com/bobcats/news/draft_okafor_062404.html |archive-date=February 3, 2008 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> was named [[NBA Rookie of the Year Award|Rookie of the Year]]. Third-overall pick [[Ben Gordon (basketball)|Ben Gordon]], also out of Connecticut, earned the [[NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award|Sixth Man of the Year Award]], becoming the first rookie in NBA history to do so.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/basketball/bulls-gordon-first-rookie-to-win-nba-sixth-man-award-1.533418 |title=Bulls' Gordon first rookie to win NBA Sixth Man Award – Basketball – CBC |access-date=May 22, 2017 |publisher=CBC |location=Canada |date=May 3, 2005 |archive-date=October 18, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018072141/http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2005/05/03/gordon_6thman050503.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Dwight Howard]] has become an [[2020 NBA Finals|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 [[NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award|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. This is currently the most recent draft class with no remaining players active in the NBA, as Iguodala announced his retirement in 2023.