The
2004 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2004, at
The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, 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.