With scrimmages underway in the NBA’s restart, the Golden State Warriors are outside the Orlando Bubble. Their league-worst 15-50 record didn’t earn the Warriors a trip to Disney World. Instead, the Warriors will be in line for a top-five draft pick for the first time since 2002.
While mock drafts try to predict what Bob Myers and Steve Kerr will do when Golden State is on the clock, Warriors Wire is looking back. Before October’s draft, Warriors Wire is rewinding through Golden State’s draft history to highlight some of the most memorable selections — trades, surprises, busts, sleepers and everything in between.
In 2004, the Golden State Warriors turned to Latvia with their first-round pick.
June 24, 2004
In 2004, the Orlando Magic were on the clock to kick off the draft. The Magic selected Dwight Howard out of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy with the first overall pick. After prospects like Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala, Ben Gordon, Josh Childress and Luol Deng went off the board in the top 10, the Golden State Warriors were on the clock at No. 11.
After a 37 win season, general manager Garry St. Jean landed Andris Biedriņš out of Latvia in the first round.
Before coming to the Bay Area, Biedriņš played two seasons with the Latvian team KB Skonto.
As a rookie, the 18-year-old played in 30 games for the Warriors, averaging 3.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game. After three years in the league, Biedriņš production grew to 10.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest in 2007-08.
Biedriņš was a key piece in Golden State’s upset of the Dallas Mavericks in the “We Believe” year. The seven-footer played in 11 postseason games in 2007, tallying 6.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks for the Warriors.
The 2004 first-round draft pick went on to play nine seasons with the Warriors. Biedriņš capped off his 10-year career in 2014 after playing one season for the Utah Jazz.
Other notable members of the 2004 draft class included Prentiss High School’s Al Jefferson, Oak Hill Academy’s Josh Smith. St. Benedict’s Prep’s J.R. Smith, Brazil’s Anderson Varejao and Saint Joseph’s Jameer Nelson.
