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.
The 2003 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2003, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The NBA announced that 41 college and high school players and a record 31 international players had filed as early-entry candidates for the 2003 NBA draft. The Cleveland Cavaliers, who had a 22.50 percent probability of obtaining the first selection, won the NBA draft lottery on May 22, and Cleveland chairman Gordon Gund said afterward his team would select LeBron James. The Detroit Pistons and the Denver Nuggets were second and third, respectively. This draft was the first draft to be aired on ESPN after they picked up the license from TNT.
The 2002 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2002, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting 57 amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players from non-North American leagues. This was the last draft that was broadcast on TNT, as ESPN obtained the rights for the 2003 draft via its incoming deal. The NBA announced that about 42 college and high school players, and five international players, had filed as early-entry candidates for the draft. The Chicago Bulls and the Golden State Warriors each had a 22.5% chance of acquiring the first pick, but the Houston Rockets, with just an 8.9% probability, won the NBA draft lottery on May 19. The Bulls and Warriors were second and third, respectively. As punishment for salary-cap violations during the 2000–01 season, the Minnesota Timberwolves forfeited their first-round draft pick.
The 2001 NBA draft took place on June 27, 2001 in New York City, New York. Kwame Brown became the first high school player to be drafted with the first overall pick in the history of the NBA. The selection of Kwame Brown by the Washington Wizards, over players that have gone on to have more successful NBA careers, has been a source of great criticism by numerous media outlets. Several international players from this draft, Pau Gasol (Spain), Tony Parker (France) and Mehmet Okur (Turkey), became NBA All-Stars.
The 2000 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2000, at the Target Center in Minneapolis. It was the last draft held at the home arena of an NBA team until 2011; the following and subsequent drafts all took place at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. As of 2023, it is also the last NBA draft where a college senior was the number-one overall selection.
The 1999 NBA draft was held on June 30, 1999, at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. It was the first draft in which four players from the same college were picked in the first round, with Elton Brand, Trajan Langdon (11th), Corey Maggette (13th) and William Avery (14th) being selected out of Duke University. It is widely viewed as one of the best draft classes, with a total of nine future NBA All-Stars being chosen, as well as three winners of the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award—Manu Ginóbili, Jason Terry, and Lamar Odom. Six of the top nine picks were NBA All-Stars. Pablo Prigioni, who was eligible for selection but went undrafted, eventually debuted in the 2012–2013 season as the oldest rookie in NBA history at age 35.
The 1998 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1998, at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This draft helped turn around four struggling franchises: the Dallas Mavericks, the Sacramento Kings, the Boston Celtics, and the Toronto Raptors.
The 1989 NBA draft took place on June 27, 1989, in New York City. Despite eight of the top ten picks being considered busts, including the first two picks Pervis Ellison and Danny Ferry, the draft produced many talented players such as Shawn Kemp, Glen Rice, Sean Elliott, Nick Anderson, Dana Barros, Tim Hardaway, Vlade Divac, Clifford Robinson, B. J. Armstrong and Mookie Blaylock.
The 1986 NBA draft was held on June 17, 1986.
The 1988 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1988, in New York City, New York. The length was reduced from seven rounds in the previous year to three rounds. This was also the first draft for the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, prior to their inaugural season.
The 1990 NBA draft took place on June 27, 1990, in New York City, New York. One of the standouts of this draft is Basketball Hall of Famer Gary Payton. He became a nine-time All-Star, achieved the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award in 1996, won an NBA Championship with the Miami Heat in 2006, holds many statistical records during his tenure with the since rebranded and relocated Seattle SuperSonics, and was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 2013.
The 1992 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1992, at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. The draft is considered to be one of the deepest in NBA history. The top three picks were considered can't-miss prospects. All three are Hall of Famers; O'Neal and Mourning are (individual) player-inducted, whereas Laettner is team-inducted. Laettner made one All-Star game in his career and was an Olympic Gold Medalist on the 1992 Dream Team, but did not live up to the lofty expectations set for him. The trio would end up playing together on the 2005 Miami Heat. Two other players went on to become All-Stars and several others had solid careers. Harold Miner, who was given the nickname "Baby Jordan" because of his similarities to Michael Jordan, slipped to number 12 and, other than winning two slam dunk contests, only had a brief, uneventful, and injury prone four-year career.
The 1993 NBA draft took place on June 30, 1993, at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The draft had some talented players at the top, but injuries and personal problems hurt many of them. Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway, Allan Houston, and Jamal Mashburn were All-Stars whose careers were cut short by injuries. Isaiah Rider and Vin Baker showed great potential but were plagued by personal problems. Bobby Hurley's career was derailed by a car wreck in December of his rookie year. The mid-to-late first round was littered with players that failed to make any significant impact, with the exception of three-time NBA champion Sam Cassell. One of the NBA best all-time wing defensive players, three-time champion Bruce Bowen, went undrafted.
The 1994 NBA draft took place on June 29, 1994, at Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. Two NBA rookies of the year were picked in the first round, as Jason Kidd and Grant Hill were co-winners of the award for the 1994–95 NBA season. Kidd and Hill would end up as perennial All-Stars, though Hill's career was marred by severe injuries.
The 1995 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1995, at SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It marked the first NBA draft to be held outside the United States and was the first draft for the two Canadian expansion teams, Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies. Kevin Garnett, who was taken fifth in this draft, is notable for being the first player in two decades to be selected straight out of high school. Garnett ultimately gathered fifteen All Star selections, nine All-NBA selections, one NBA MVP award, and multiple other accolades. Rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse also had successful careers, being four-time and two-time All-Stars respectively. Wallace won an NBA championship in 2004 with the Detroit Pistons, while Stackhouse scored the most total points in the league in 2000, also with the Pistons.
The 1996 NBA draft was the 50th draft in the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held on June 26, 1996 at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players from high schools and non-North American leagues. The Vancouver Grizzlies had the highest probability to win the NBA draft lottery, but since they were an expansion team along with the Toronto Raptors, they were not allowed to select first in this draft. The team with the second-highest probability, the Philadelphia 76ers, won the lottery and obtained the first selection. The Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies were second and third, respectively.
The 1997 NBA draft took place on June 25, 1997, at Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Vancouver Grizzlies had the highest probability to win the NBA draft lottery, but since they were an expansion team along with the Toronto Raptors they were not allowed to select first in this draft. Although the Boston Celtics had the second-worst record in the 1996–97 season and the best odds of winning the lottery with two picks, the Spurs lost David Robinson and Sean Elliott to injury early in the season, finished with the third-worst record, and subsequently won the lottery. Leading up to the draft, there was no doubt that Tim Duncan would be selected at No. 1 by the Spurs as he was considered to be far and away the best prospect. After Duncan, the rest of the draft was regarded with some skepticism. The Celtics had the third and sixth picks, selecting Chauncey Billups and Ron Mercer, both of whom were traded in the next two years.
The 2004–05 NBA season was the Bulls' 39th season in the National Basketball Association. After the retirement of Scottie Pippen, the Bulls stumbled out of the gate as they lost their first nine games on their way to an awful 3–14 start. However, they would win 13 of their 16 games in January including a 7-game winning streak, then win nine straight games between March and April. The Bulls finished second in the Central Division with a record of 47–35, and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1998, when they last made the NBA Finals, as well as when they won their last NBA championship. Second-year star Kirk Hinrich averaged 15.7 points, 6.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Top draft pick Ben Gordon became the first rookie to win the Sixth Man of The Year Award, as he and Luol Deng were both selected to the All-Rookie First Team.
The 1991–92 NBA season was the Nuggets' 16th season in the National Basketball Association, and 25th season as a franchise. To improve defensively, the Nuggets selected 7'2" Georgetown center Dikembe Mutombo with the fourth overall pick in the 1991 NBA draft, and also selected Mark Macon out of Temple University with the eighth pick. Mutombo was a native of Zaire, and spoke nine languages. The team also re-signed Walter Davis after a brief stint with the Portland Trail Blazers, and acquired Winston Garland from the Los Angeles Clippers. Mutombo had an immediate impact as the Nuggets showed improvement with an 8–8 start to the season, then holding a 17–26 record at the end of January. However, in the second half of the season, the Nuggets struggled losing nine consecutive games between February and March, then posting an 11-game losing streak near the end of the season. The Nuggets won just 7 of their last 39 games to post a record of 24–58, fifth in the Midwest Division.
The 1987 NBA draft was held on June 22, 1987, in New York City.
