The

2004–05 NBA season The 2004–05 NBA season was the 59th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It began on November 2, 2004 and ended June 23, 2005. The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs defeating the defending-champion Detroit Pistons, 4–3, i ...

was the Hawks' 56th season in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

, and 37th season in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. In the

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 colle ...

, the Hawks selected

Josh Childress Joshua Malik Childress (born June 20, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. An All-EuroLeague Second Team member in 2010, he played with the Atlanta Hawks, Phoenix Suns, Brooklyn Nets and New Orleans Pelicans of the Nation ...

from

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

with the sixth pick, and high school star

Josh Smith Joshua Smith (born December 5, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Entering the NBA straight out of high school, Smith played nine seasons with the Atlant ...

with the seventeenth pick. During the off-season, the team hired

Mike Woodson Michael Dean Woodson (born March 24, 1958) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team. With coach Bob Knight's Indiana Hoosiers, Woodson played collegiate ...

as head coach and acquired All-Star forward

Antoine Walker Antoine Devon Walker (born August 12, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft out of the University of Kentucky and played in the NBA from 1996 to 2008. Walker ...

, and

Tony Delk Tony Lorenzo Delk (born January 28, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player and college assistant coach. He last served as an assistant coach for the New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team. During his playing days, he w ...

from the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

Al Harrington Albert Harrington (born February 17, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant coach for the Cape Town Tigers. Selected with the 25th overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft, Harrington played 16 seasons in the ...

from the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

, and

Predrag Drobnjak Peja Drobnjak (born 27 October 1975) is a Montenegrin professional basketball scout and former player. At , he played at the power forward and center positions. Throughout his nineteen-year career, Drobnjak has spent three full seasons playing in ...

from the expansion

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populous ...

. The team also signed free agents Kenny Anderson, re-signed

Jon Barry Jon Alan Barry (born July 25, 1969) is an American former basketball player and current television analyst for ABC and ESPN. Biography Barry is the son of Hall of Famer Rick Barry and Pam Connolly, and has three brothers: Scooter, Brent, and ...

and former Hawks forward

Kevin Willis Kevin Alvin Willis (born September 6, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player mostly known for playing with the Atlanta Hawks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a 7-foot power forward/center. Excluding players ...

. The Hawks were not expected to be any good heading into the season posting an awful 2–12 record in November. In December, the team traded Barry to the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

for

Tyronn Lue Tyronn Jamar Lue (pronounced ''Ta-RON LEW''; born May 3, 1977) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He formerly served as t ...

. At midseason, Walker was eventually traded back to his former team, the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

for All-Star guard

Gary Payton Gary Dwayne Payton Sr. (born July 23, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who played the point guard position. Widely considered one of the greatest point guards of all time, he is best known for his 13-year tenure with t ...

Tom Gugliotta Thomas James Gugliotta (born December 19, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player who played thirteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Early life The youngest of seven children, Gugliotta has far Italian ...

and Michael Stewart, while Anderson was released to free agency and signed with the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

. However, Payton never played for the Hawks, and was released and then re-signed with the Celtics for the rest of the season. Meanwhile, the Hawks went from bad to worse losing 32 of their final 35 games, posting 13 and 14-game losing streaks respectively on their way to finishing with a league worst record at 13–69 (.159), which was their worst winning percentage in franchise history. Harrington led the team with 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Despite their awful season, Smith won the Slam Dunk Contest during the All-Star Weekend in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, as he and Childress both made the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. Following the season, second-year guard

Boris Diaw Boris Babacar Diaw-Riffiod (born April 16, 1982), better known as Boris Diaw, is a French basketball executive and former player who is the president of Metropolitans 92 of LNB Pro A. Diaw began his playing career in Pro A and returned to that l ...

was traded to the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

for Joe Johnson, Willis and Gugliotta both retired, but Willis would come back for one more season with the

before retiring again, and Drobnjak and Stewart were both released to free agency. For the season, the Hawks added new yellow alternate road uniforms with black side panels, which would last until 2007.

Offseason

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

:z - clinched division title :y - clinched division title :x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Season

Player Statistics Citation:

Awards and records

NBA All-Rookie Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for playe ...

Offseason

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Season

Awards and records

Injuries

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Re-signed

Additions

Subtractions

References

See also