February 8
From Hoopedia
- 1901 - Indiana University plays its first basketball game, losing to in-state rival Butler, 20-17.
- 1970 - Seven-time NBA All-Star Alonzo Mourning is born in Chesapeake, Virginia.
- 1986 - (Right) At 5-7, Spud Webb is the shortest player to win the NBA's Slam Dunk Contest as he defeats teammate Dominique Wilkins to secure the title in his hometown of Dallas. The AT&T Shootout debuts with Larry Bird capturing the crown.
- 1987 - The West defeats the East in the NBA All-Star Game. A record was set for total points scored. The West wins 154-149 in overtime. Tom Chambers of the Seattle SuperSonics, a last-minute replacement for the injured Ralph Sampson, scores a game-high 34 points to lead the West to victory in front of 34,275 fans at the Kingdome. Chambers is named All-Star Game MVP.
- 1995 - The league suspends Vernon Maxwell for a minimum of 10 games and fines him $20,000 for going into the stands and punching a fan during a Rockets-Trail Blazers game in Portland.
- 1998 - Michael Jordan scores 23 points, grabs six rebounds and also dishes a team-high eight assists on his way to being named the 1998 NBA All-Star Game MVP. Jordan becomes the oldest All-Star Game MVP, winning the award nine days before his 35th birthday.
- 2001 - The Continental Basketball Association declares bankruptcy and ceases operations, eighteen months after being purchased by Isiah Thomas.
- 2006 - Deb Remmerde, of Northwestern College, misses a free throw after making 133 consecutive shots from the charity stripe. The streak remains the longest in organized basketball history.
