NBA to Provide In-Depth Coverage of the 2004 NBA Draft

NEW YORK, NY — The NBA announced today that NBA TV, NBA.com and marketing partners, Nokia and Verizon Wireless will offer the most comprehensive 2004 NBA Draft coverage to date. The wall-to-wall Draft coverage will represent the past, present and future of the NBA. NBA TV will show appreciation for Drafts of yesteryear as the network re-airs 14 NBA Draft shows from years past, part of the nearly 60 hours of NBA Draft coverage, NBA.com will give fans the chance to chat live with their favorite team's newest members soon after they are selected and Nokia and Verizon Wireless help fans stay updated no matter where they are with Draft alerts on Verizon Wireless phones and video highlights on the Nokia 6600 series video phone.

NBA TV Launches Special Draft Programming

NBA TV, the league's 24-hour television channel, will air nearly 60 hours of special programming leading up to the 2004 NBA Draft including re-airing past NBA Drafts, "NBA TV Insiders Draft Preview" special, live coverage of the Charlotte Bobcats Expansion Selection Special and exclusive interviews with NBA draft picks.

NBA TV's special NBA Draft programming to include:

• Re-airing 14 NBA Draft shows from 1981, '82, '84, '85, '86, '87, '88, '89, '90, '91, '92, '93, '94 and '95.
• Live coverage of the Charlotte Bobcats Expansion Selection Special, Tuesday, June 22 (7-8 PM/ET). 
• "NBA TV Insiders Draft Preview" special Wednesday, June 23 (6-7 PM/ET). with host Spero Dedes, veteran college basketball analyst Bill Raftery and former New York Knicks General Manager Scott Layden.
• Re-airing of college all-star tournament, Portsmouth Invitational featuring more than 60 of the nation's top seniors.
• Exclusive interviews with every draft pick on-site for the 2004 Draft, including behind-the-scenes access from Madison Square Garden.
• Re-airing ESPN coverage of the 2004 NBA Draft Friday, June 25 (1-6 PM/ET).

Nokia NBA Video Highlights and Verizon Wireless Text Alerts Keep Wireless Fans Connected

NBA Draft Partners Nokia and Verizon Wireless will provide fans with the opportunity to stay on top of all of the news from the 2004 NBA Draft through Nokia video highlights and Verizon Wireless text alerts. Additionally, 2004 NBA Draft partners American Express, got milk? and Sprite will have a presence on site and on air on ESPN.

For the first time ever, Nokia will be offering 2004 NBA Draft video highlights via the Nokia 6600 video phone. The Nokia 6600 will showcase the most in-depth wireless coverage of the Draft as it will allow fans to watch highlights of the Top NBA Draft Picks as well as behind-the-scenes content featuring exclusive 2004 NBA Draftee interviews by NBA on TNT analyst Kenny Smith.

Through NBA Draft TXT Play, Verizon Wireless customers can sign-up to receive Draft-related trivia questions leading up to the Draft via TXT message, as well as receive Draft night TXT Alerts on their 2-way TXT messaging-capable phones from either the Lottery round (picks 1-14) or the entire first round (picks 1-30). In addition to the Alerts, Draft Day headlines will detail all trades, highlight interesting Draft facts and provide breaking news updates. Fans will be able to sign-up by sending a TXT message to 622 with 'NBA' in the message field or by signing up through NBA.com.

Verizon Wireless customers can pay as they go for TXT Messaging, which is just $0.02 for each message received and $0.10 for each message sent, or select from bundled plans of $2.99 per month for 100 messages, $4.99 per month for 250 messages, or $9.99 per month for 1,000 messages sent or received.

Top NBA Draft Prospects to Chat with Fans

NBA.com will offer fans around the world comprehensive coverage of the NBA Draft 2004 though a live draft in conjunction with ESPN.com and an exclusive opportunity to chat live with top NBA draft prospects including Emeka Okafor, Dwight Howard and Luol Deng, shortly after being selected.

Additional NBA.com Draft coverage will include complete player profiles of more than 125 draft prospects, a live updating draft board, extensive behind-the-scenes photo galleries, expert draft analysis, live audio of the entire draft, exclusive video highlights, an NBA Draft Pick 'em game, a complete NBA Draft history section, special team coverage and more.

Utah Jazz to Unveil New Look

On Draft day, the Utah Jazz will unveil a new logo, uniform and team colors at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The new Jazz colors and logo will be on display at the Draft as Utah's first-round Draft pick will approach the podium wearing the logo proudly on a 2004 NBA Draft Cap.

NBA Draft 2004 will be held on Thursday, June 24, 2004 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and the NBA on ESPN Radio.

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