People don’t often talk about Alex English when discussing the all-time great scorers, nor he is a part of the list of players with the most career points per game anymore. He played in an era where Magic Johnson, Julius Erving, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Larry Bird got much of the attention, and rightfully so. Even so, Alex English remains one of the all-time greatest shot-makers in the history of the league, and undisputedly the best player in Denver Nuggets history. His fame preceded him the same way it preceded the likes of Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan in terms of elite scorers.
English played in the NBA for 14 years, scoring over 25,000 points and owning nearly every team record for the Nuggets. His mid-range game was flawless, and even though he barely stood foot beyond the three-point line, he still became the first NBA player to score over 2,000 points in eight consecutive seasons.
From his days in college to his tenure with the NBA Players’ Association, Alex English’s basketball legacy will difficulty be topped. Not many players had scored more points than him before his retirement, and 90% of the players will never score more points than him in a single game. That’s why he’s in the Hall of Fame. Here, we’ll let you know everything about him.
Alex English – Early Years
Alex English was born in Columbia, South Carolina, on January 8, 1954. He was raised with his grandmother during the early stages of his life while his parents worked in New York, sharing his household with 11 of her other 13 grandchildren. They barely got by and often got a single meal per day.
Alex English – Shining In High School
Alex English’s Basketball Hall of Famer career started off at Hand Junior High School. He later transferred to Dreher High School, starting a total of 78 games and averaging north of 31 points per game in his junior year.
Alex English – Attending South Carolina
English’s fame in the state and his electric play granted him plenty of interest from college basketball programs. Eventually, he enrolled at the University of South Carolina, where he would go on to become one of the all-time greats. He was a perennial starter during his four-year career, rising fame as the first African American athlete to become a school legend. He was one of just three players to grab over 1,000 rebounds and shoot over 50% from the field, retiring with 1,972 points before declaring for the NBA Draft.
Alex English – Milwaukee Bucks And Early Struggles
The Milwaukee Bucks took him with the 23rd overall pick of the 1976 NBA Draft. However, English didn’t enjoy much playing time during his brief tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks. English played off the bench and averaged 5.2 and 9.6 points per game during his two years in Wisconsin.
Alex English – Establishing With The Indiana Pacers
After two straight seasons of struggles and inconsistency, English signed with another rebuilding team in the Indiana Pacers, where he’d establish himself as a promising, up-and-coming scorer with averages of 15.6 points per game. Despite the improvement, he was still far away from his days of fame and stardom.
Alex English – Making NBA History With The Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets traded for English midway through the 1979-80 season, letting go of George McInnis in the meantime. From that point on, no one would ever score more points than him for the franchise, not even Carmelo Anthony. English became one of the most dominant players in the Association. The Nuggets made the playoffs and his rise to fame was unstoppable, as he led them to the Western Conference Finals where they lost to the eventual NBA Champion Lakers in just five games.
English won his only scoring title in his fourth season with the team, and he stayed with the Nuggets for 10 and a half seasons. English recorded a career-high average of 29.8 points per game in 1986. However, Denver won just 47 games in the regular season and couldn’t get out of the second round.
During his playing days in Denver and next to Calvin Natt and Fat Lever, English topped the 2,000-point plateau in eight consecutive seasons, becoming the first player to achieve that milestone. To make it even more impressive, he scored just 11 three-pointers during that span, unlike other players at the time. His team could never make it to the NBA Finals, though, and that always took a toll on how people saw him. Eventually, when his scoring average plummeted to 17.9 PPG, and after their struggles in the playoffs, the Nuggets elected not to re-sign him as his contract ran out.
Alex English – Dallas Mavericks And The Final Stop In The NBA
English joined the Dallas Mavericks on a one-year contract as a free agent, joining a team with up-and-coming players like Rolando Blackman and Derek Harper. He was excited to finally make a trip to the NBA Finals, but that was far from the case. English came off the bench in all but 26 games that season, averaging just 9.7 points per game before retiring as a free agent.
Alex English – The End Of His Playing Career
English’ final step before heading to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame came outside the premises of the NBA. At ‘Just’ 37 years old, he traveled overseas to play for Depi Napoli in Italy, where he averaged 13.9 points per game. He proved that he was more than just fame and fortune, as he still ranked among the best players in the league.
Alex English – Coaching Career
After his days in the NBA, Alex English pursued a coaching career in the NBA D-League (now called G-League). He became the head coach of the North Charleston Logwators for the 2001-02 season. Then, before the start of the next campaign, he joined the Atlanta Hawks’ coaching staff, and next season he became an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers.
In 2004, the Toronto Raptors hired English for a position as both assistant coach and director of player development, resigning to the latter in 2009. He stood with the organization until 2011 when his contract ran out. Eventually, he joined Keith Smart’s coaching staff with the Sacramento Kings in 2012 but was later let go by Michael Malone in 2013.
Alex English – Awards And Accolades
Over his NBA career, was an eight-time All-Star, was named to the All-NBA Second Team three times, won one Scoring Title, and won the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award. Also, his no. 22 jersey was retired by the South Carolina Gamecocks, as was his no. 2 for the Denver Nuggets. Per his career, English averaged 21.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game on 50% shooting. He scored 25,613 points in his career, trailing only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Elvin Hayes, Moses Malone, Oscar Robertson, and John Havlicek at the time. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Alex English – Outside Of Basketball
Alex English did a lot of things outside of the hardwood, both sports-related and not. For instance, he was the first-ever director of player programs for the National Basketball Players’ Association, and was also named Interim Executive Director of the NBPA at some point. He later became an SEC Network color commenter for basketball games.
For nearly a decade, English has been an ambassador and participant in the Sports Envoy program for the U.S. Department of State, promoting the game in Italy, Chile, and the Republic of Korea as a part of a Sports Diplomacy’s initiative to promote youth growth and stable democratic government. He’s also a regular presence in Basketball Without Borders.
Moreover, English was just more than a prolific scorer. He’s actually a great actor and a theatre enthusiast. He’s had several minor roles in television, appearing in Eddie, The Nothing But Net Show, and the Midnight Caller. He’s also appeared in movies like The Definite Maybe, Amazing Grace and Chuck, and Lumera.
Besides Alex English, What Other Legends Never Won A Ring?
Alex English is just one of the countless NBA legends who could never win a ring before retiring. He’s joined by the likes of John Stockton, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Elgin Baylor, Allen Iverson, Steve Nash, Patrick Ewing, Pete Maravich, Reggie Miller, Dominique Wilkins, and many more.
What Modern Players Play Like Alex English?
Truth be told, Alex English’s game was perfectly suited for the ’80s, and it would be tough to compare him with a modern-day player. He had one of the highest releases in NBA history and, albeit not impressively athletic, he could score nearly at will from everywhere on the court. The closest comparisons could be Carmelo Anthony minus the long-range shooting or a better, more efficient Monta Ellis.
What was Alex English’s nickname?
Alex English was known as ‘The Blade’ for his ability to cut up through opponents. He pretty much sliced through them to constantly get open. He was also known as ‘Flick’, which was short for ‘Afflicted’, a nickname he earned as a kid because he looked worried or out of place on the basketball court at first glance.
How many years did Alex English lead the NBA in scoring?
Despite being the Denver Nuggets’ all-time leading scorer and perhaps the most prolific scorer of his time, Alex English only led the NBA in scoring once. That happened during the 1982-83 season when he averaged 28.9 points per game and scored 2,127 points. Ironically, he scored the most total points in a season twice (1982-83 and 1985-86) but didn’t have the highest PPG average, so he didn’t win the award.
Where Does Alex English Rank Among The All-Time Leading Scorers In Nuggets History?
Per Basketball-Reference, Alex English ranks first in games (837), minutes (29,893), field goals (8,953), field goal attempts (17,604), two-pointers (8,935), two-point attempts (17,525), field goal misses (8,651), offensive rebounds (2,038), assists (3,679), turnovers (2,263), personal fouls (2,288), points (21,645), and points per game (25.9).
What’s Alex English’s Net Worth?
Most of English’s career earnings are undisclosed. However, it’s known that he made $8,865,000 from 1984 to 2002 in NBA salaries. According to Net Worth Insight, he’s worth an estimated $25 million as of November 2020.
