# 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.
After the completion of the regular season, Emeka Okafor, the Bobcats' historical first rookie draft pick back when they were considered an expansion franchise, was named Rookie of the Year, while Ben Gordon earned the Sixth Man Award, becoming the first rookie in NBA history to do so.
Dwight Howard has become an NBA Champion, eight-time All-Star, has received seven 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. This is currently the most recent draft class with no remaining players active in the NBA, as Iguodala announced his retirement in 2023. Howard, however, continues to play professional basketball in Taiwan.

## Draft selections

| G | Guard | F | Forward | C | Center |
| * | 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 |
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | School/club team |
| 1 | 1 | Dwight Howard$^*$ | C/PF | United States | Orlando Magic | Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy (Atlanta) |
| 1 | 2 | Emeka Okafor$^~$ | PF/C | United States Nigeria | Charlotte Bobcats (from L.A. Clippers) | Connecticut (Jr.) |
| 1 | 3 | Ben Gordon | SG | United Kingdom | Chicago Bulls | Connecticut (Jr.) |
| 1 | 4 | Shaun Livingston | PG | United States | Los Angeles Clippers (from Charlotte) | Peoria HS (Peoria, Illinois) |
| 1 | 5 | Devin Harris$^+$ | PG | United States | Washington Wizards (traded to Dallas) | Wisconsin (Jr.) |
| 1 | 6 | Josh Childress | G/F | United States | Atlanta Hawks | Stanford (Jr.) |
| 1 | 7 | Luol Deng$^+$ | SF | United Kingdom | Phoenix Suns (traded to Chicago) | Duke (Fr.) |
| 1 | 8 | Rafael Araújo | C | Brazil | Toronto Raptors | BYU (Sr.) |
| 1 | 9 | Andre Iguodala$^*$ | SF | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | Arizona (So.) |
| 1 | 10 | Luke Jackson | SF | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers | Oregon (Sr.) |
| 1 | 11 | Andris Biedriņš | C | Latvia | Golden State Warriors | Skonto (Latvia) |
| 1 | 12 | Robert Swift | C | United States | Seattle SuperSonics | Bakersfield HS (Bakersfield, California) |
| 1 | 13 | Sebastian Telfair | PG | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | Lincoln HS (Brooklyn, New York) |
| 1 | 14 | Kris Humphries | PF | United States | Utah Jazz | Minnesota (Fr.) |
| 1 | 15 | Al Jefferson$^x$ | PF/C | United States | Boston Celtics | Prentiss HS (Prentiss, Mississippi) |
| 1 | 16 | Kirk Snyder | SG | United States | Utah Jazz (from New York via Phoenix) | Nevada (Jr.) |
| 1 | 17 | Josh Smith | SF | United States | Atlanta Hawks (from Milwaukee via Denver and Detroit) | Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia) |
| 1 | 18 | J. R. Smith | SG | United States | New Orleans Hornets | St. Benedict's Prep (Newark, New Jersey) |
| 1 | 19 | Dorell Wright | SF | United States | Miami Heat | South Kent School (South Kent, Connecticut) |
| 1 | 20 | Jameer Nelson$^+$ | PG | United States | Denver Nuggets (traded to Orlando) | Saint Joseph's (Sr.) |
| 1 | 21 | Pavel Podkolzin | C | Russia | Utah Jazz (from Houston, traded to Dallas) | Metis Varese (Italy) |
| 1 | 22 | Victor Khryapa | SF | Russia | New Jersey Nets (traded to Portland) | CSKA Moscow (Russia) |
| 1 | 23 | Sergei Monia | SG | Russia | Portland Trail Blazers (from Memphis) | CSKA Moscow (Russia) |
| 1 | 24 | Delonte West | PG | United States | Boston Celtics (from Dallas) | Saint Joseph's (Jr.) |
| 1 | 25 | Tony Allen | SG | United States | Boston Celtics (from Detroit) | Oklahoma State (Sr.) |
| 1 | 26 | Kevin Martin | SG | United States | Sacramento Kings | Western Carolina (Jr.) |
| 1 | 27 | Saša Vujačić | SG | Slovenia | Los Angeles Lakers | Snaidero Udine (Italy) |
| 1 | 28 | Beno Udrih | PG | Slovenia | San Antonio Spurs | Breil Milano (Italy) |
| 1 | 29 | David Harrison | C | United States | Indiana Pacers | Colorado (Jr.) |
| 1 | – | Forfeited Pick | | | Minnesota Timberwolves (forfeited their first-round pick due to salary cap violations) | |
| 2 | 30 | Anderson Varejão | C | Brazil | Orlando Magic (traded to Cleveland) | FC Barcelona (Spain) |
| 2 | 31 | Jackson Vroman | C | United States | Chicago Bulls (traded to Phoenix) | Iowa State (Sr.) |
| 2 | 32 | Peter John Ramos | C | Puerto Rico | Washington Wizards | Caguas (Puerto Rico) |
| 2 | 33 | Lionel Chalmers | PG | United States | Los Angeles Clippers (from Charlotte) | Xavier (Sr.) |
| 2 | 34 | Donta Smith | SF | United States | Atlanta Hawks | Southeastern Illinois (So.) |
| 2 | 35 | Andre Emmett | F/G | United States | Seattle SuperSonics (from L.A. Clippers, traded to Memphis) | Texas Tech (Sr.) |
| 2 | 36 | Antonio Burks | PG | United States | Orlando Magic (from Phoenix, traded to Memphis) | Memphis (Sr.) |
| 2 | 37 | Royal Ivey | PG | United States | Atlanta Hawks (from Philadelphia) | Texas (Sr.) |
| 2 | 38 | Chris Duhon | PG | United States | Chicago Bulls (from Toronto) | Duke (Sr.) |
| 2 | 39 | Albert Miralles$^#$ | PF | Spain | Toronto Raptors (from Cleveland, traded to Miami) | Roseto Basket (Italy) |
| 2 | 40 | Justin Reed | SF | United States | Boston Celtics | Mississippi (Sr.) |
| 2 | 41 | David Young$^#$ | G | United States | Seattle SuperSonics | North Carolina Central (Sr.) |
| 2 | 42 | Viktor Sanikidze$^#$ | SF | Georgia | Atlanta Hawks (from Golden State via Philadelphia and Orlando, traded to San Antonio) | Dijon (France) |
| 2 | 43 | Trevor Ariza | SF | United States | New York Knicks | UCLA (Fr.) |
| 2 | 44 | Tim Pickett$^#$ | SG | United States | New Orleans Hornets | Florida State (Sr.) |
| 2 | 45 | Bernard Robinson | SF | United States | Charlotte Bobcats (from Milwaukee) | Michigan (Sr.) |
| 2 | 46 | Ha Seung-Jin | C | South Korea | Portland Trail Blazers | Yonsei University (South Korea) |
| 2 | 47 | Pape Sow | PF | Senegal | Miami Heat (traded to Toronto) | Cal State Fullerton (Sr.) |
| 2 | 48 | Ricky Minard$^#$ | SG | United States | Sacramento Kings (from Utah) | Morehead State (Sr.) |
| 2 | 49 | Serhiy Lishchuk$^#$ | PF | Ukraine | Memphis Grizzlies (from Denver via Orlando) | Khimik Yuzhny (Ukraine) |
| 2 | 50 | Vassilis Spanoulis | PG | Greece | Dallas Mavericks (from Houston via Denver, traded to Houston) | Maroussi (Greece) |
| 2 | 51 | Christian Drejer$^#$ | SF | Denmark | New Jersey Nets | FC Barcelona (Spain) |
| 2 | 52 | Romain Sato$^#$ | SG | Central African Republic | San Antonio Spurs (from Memphis) | Xavier (Sr.) |
| 2 | 53 | Matt Freije | SF | Lebanon | Miami Heat (from Dallas) | Vanderbilt (Sr.) |
| 2 | 54 | Rickey Paulding$^#$ | SG | United States | Detroit Pistons | Missouri (Sr.) |
| 2 | 55 | Luis Flores | PG | Dominican Republic | Houston Rockets (from Sacramento via Utah, traded to Golden State via Dallas) | Manhattan (Sr.) |
| 2 | 56 | Marcus Douthit$^#$ | PF | United States | Los Angeles Lakers | Providence (Sr.) |
| 2 | 57 | Sergei Karaulov$^#$ | G | Russia | San Antonio Spurs | Skha Jakutia Yakutsk (Russia) |
| 2 | 58 | Blake Stepp$^#$ | PG | United States | Minnesota Timberwolves | Gonzaga (Sr.) |
| 2 | 59 | Rashad Wright$^#$ | G | United States | Indiana Pacers | Georgia (Sr.) |
* ↑ Nationality indicates the player's national team or representative nationality. If a player has not competed at the international level, then the nationality indicates the national team which the player is eligible to represent according to FIBA rules.

## Notable undrafted players

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
### College underclassmen

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.
* 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

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.
* 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)

### International players

The following international players successfully applied for early draft entrance.
* 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

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.
Other automatically eligible players :
| Player | Team | Note | Ref. |
| Adam Caporn | Wollongong Hawks (Australia) | Left Saint Mary's in 2003; playing professionally since the 2003–04 season | |