2K4 was the best thing that ever happened to 2K fans who wanted another NBA Jam game. Whenever someone calls one of the newer 2K's "The worst NBA 2K ever!", they have never played 2K4. Worst physics, worst animations, worst post-game (actually NO POST GAME whatsoever), worst dribbling system. The only good things about the game were the graphics and presentation. And I'm not using today's standards - I using 2003 standards.
I think that even the developers wanted nothing do with it. Which is why it was called ESPN NBA Basketball ("2K4" was hidden).