NEW YORK — The NBA and the Indiana Pacers announced today that NBA All-Star in Indianapolis, which was originally scheduled for Feb. 12-14, 2021, will now be held Feb. 16-18, 2024. Public health conditions prevented the Pacers, the NBA All-Star Host Committee and the NBA from appropriately planning and executing fan-focused All-Star activities in Indianapolis that were envisioned for this February.
The 2024 NBA All-Star Game will take place at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, home of the Pacers, on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024. Plans for a revised NBA All-Star 2021 will be announced at a later date.
“While we are disappointed that the NBA All-Star Game will not take place in Indianapolis in 2021, we are looking forward to the Pacers and the city hosting the game and surrounding events in 2024,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “I want to thank Herb Simon, Steve Simon, Rick Fuson and the entire Pacers organization as well as the NBA All-Star 2021 Host Committee and the community of Indianapolis for working with us to reschedule our All-Star activities.”
“We are excited about the opportunity to bring Indiana the very best All-Star experience in 2024,” said Pacers owner Herb Simon. “The efforts of so many Hoosiers to prepare for NBA All-Star 2021 put us ahead of the game for the hard work to come, and we are so grateful to the NBA for once again recognizing Indianapolis as a city that delivers world-class events.”
NBA All-Star 2024 in Indianapolis will follow Cleveland in 2022 and Salt Lake City in 2023 as All-Star host. The 2024 game will mark the second NBA All-Star in Indianapolis, which hosted the midseason classic in 1985.
NBA ALL-STAR HISTORY IN INDIANAPOLIS
Indianapolis previously hosted NBA All-Star in 1985, when the Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference 140-129 in the 35th All-Star Game. The crowd of 43,146 at the Hoosier Dome was the largest to attend an NBA game at the time.
All-Star Game MVP Ralph Sampson of the Houston Rockets finished with a game-high 24 points and a team-high 10 rebounds for the West, while Los Angeles Lakers guard Magic Johnson added 21 points and 15 assists. Detroit Pistons guard Isiah Thomas (22 points) and Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird (21 points) led the East. Rookies Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls and Hakeem Olajuwon of the Rockets made their All-Star debuts.
NBA All-Star 1985 also featured a memorable Slam Dunk Contest, won by Atlanta Hawks forward Dominique Wilkins after a final-round duel with Jordan.
Established in 1967, the Pacers spent their first nine seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA). During that time, Indianapolis hosted two ABA All-Star Games, at Hinkle Fieldhouse (1968) and the Fairgrounds Coliseum (1970). The Pacers won three ABA championships before joining the NBA in 1976.
In 1953, the NBA’s third All-Star Game was played at the Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind., the current home of the Pacers’ NBA G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
