INDIANAPOLIS — Michael Jordan. Larry Bird. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Isiah Thomas. Magic Johnson.
Those were some of the players who participated in the NBA All-Star Game the last time it was held in Indiana — yet none of them were the MVP that day.
On Feb. 10, 1985, the best basketball players in the country were in Indianapolis for the 35th NBA All-Star Game at the Hoosier Dome, which was later renamed the RCA Dome. The crowd of 43,146 at the Hoosier Dome was the largest to attend an NBA game at the time.
In the 1985 game, future Hall of Famers and NBA champions Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon made their All-Star debuts.
The West ended its five-game losing streak to the East in a 140-129 victory, led by 7-foot-4 center Ralph Sampson, from the Houston Rockets, who was named MVP with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
No Pacers players competed in the game in Indianapolis, but it did include two future Pacers head coaches: Bird (21 points, 8 rebounds) and Thomas (22 points).
Saturday's festivities, including the Slam Dunk Contest, were held at Market Square Arena. Dominique Wilkins, of the Atlanta Hawks, won his first of two Slam Dunk titles that day after a final-round duel with Jordan.
During this time, the NBA had strict dress code rules that applied to sneakers as well, and the league initially refused to allow Jordan to wear a color-coded style of the Air Jordan I.
According to NBA.com, Jordan came to the 1985 Slam Dunk Contest in the banned sneakers and a warm-up suit that wasn’t team-issued — which he got away with because it wasn't a sanctioned NBA game.
Prior to 1985, the Hoosier state hosted three basketball All-Star games:
- 1953: The 3rd NBA All-Star Game took place at Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, the current home of the Pacers' NBA G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
- 1968: The 1st ABA All-Star Game took place at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
- 1970: The 3rd ABA All-Star Game took place at the Fairgrounds Coliseum — now known as the Indiana Farmers Coliseum at the Indiana State Fairgrounds — in Indianapolis.
