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Game state source: whynba · Retrieved Oct 9, 6:37 pm EDTNBA legend. Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Biography, honors and career statistics below.
Alex English
Career at a glance
Alex English played 15 NBA regular seasons between 1976 and 1991, appearing in 1,193 games and averaging 21.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. He played for 4 teams: Milwaukee (1976–78, 142 games), Indiana (1978–80, 135 games), Denver (1979–90, 837 games), Dallas (1990–91, 79 games). His best scoring season was 1985–86 with Denver: 29.8 points per game over 81 games.
He rebounded best in 1979–80 at 9.4 per game. The season table marks him as the league leader in scoring once. In the playoffs he appeared in 10 postseason runs (68 games, 24.4 points per game).
Multiplying each season’s games by its scoring average gives roughly 25,500 regular-season points (an estimate from per-game figures, not an official total).
whynba analysis of the season-by-season statistics below (Wikipedia revision, CC BY-SA 4.0). Totals are estimates from per-game averages.
About Alex English
Alexander English (born January 5, 1954), nicknamed "the Blade", is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and businessman.
A South Carolina native, English played college basketball for the South Carolina Gamecocks. He was selected in the second round of the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft in 1976. English played the small forward position and was a star player for the Denver Nuggets in the 1980s. During his Nuggets tenure (1979–1989), the team made the NBA playoffs nine consecutive times, won two Midwest Division titles, and reached the 1985 Western Conference Finals. English played 15 seasons in the NBA for four teams, averaging 21.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. English scored more points than any other NBA player during the 1980s. He was named to eight NBA All-Star teams and made the All-NBA Second Team three times. English led the NBA in scoring in the 1982–83 season. His number 2 jersey was retired by the Denver Nuggets in 1992, and he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997.
After his playing career ended, English worked for the NBA, served as an assistant coach for several NBA teams, was involved in various business ventures, dabbled in acting, and became an NBA ambassador. He currently sits on the board of trustees at his alma mater, the University of South Carolina.
- Born
- January 5, 1954 (age 72) Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
- Listed height
- 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
- Listed weight
- 190 lb (86 kg)
- Position
- Small forward
- High school
- Dreher (Columbia, South Carolina)
- College
- South Carolina (1972–1976)
- NBA draft
- 1976: 2nd round, 23rd overall pick
- Playing career
- 1976–1992
Career highlights and awards
- 8× NBA All-Star (1982–1989)
- 3× All-NBA Second Team (1982, 1983, 1986)
- NBA scoring champion (1983)
- No. 2 retired by Denver Nuggets
- No. 22 retired by South Carolina Gamecocks
Career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976–77 | Milwaukee | 60 | 6 | 10.8 | .477 | – | .767 | 2.8 | .4 | .3 | .3 | 3.2 |
| 1977–78 | Milwaukee | 82 | 4 | 18.9 | .542 | – | .727 | 4.8 | 1.6 | .5 | .7 | 9.6 |
| 1978–79 | Indiana | 81 | 69 | 33.3 | .511 | – | .752 | 8.1 | 3.3 | .9 | 1.0 | 16.0 |
| 1979–80 | Indiana | 54 | 15 | 28.3 | .504 | .000 | .814 | 7.0 | 2.6 | .8 | .6 | 14.9 |
| 1979–80 | Denver | 24 | 24 | 36.5 | .485 | .667 | .762 | 9.4 | 3.4 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 21.3 |
| 1980–81 | Denver | 81 | 81 | 38.2 | .494 | .600 | .850 | 8.0 | 3.6 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 23.8 |
| 1981–82 | Denver | 82 | 82 | 36.8 | .551 | .000 | .840 | 6.8 | 5.3 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 25.4 |
| 1982–83 | Denver | 82 | 82 | 36.4 | .516 | .167 | .829 | 7.3 | 4.8 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 28.4* |
| 1983–84 | Denver | 82 | 77 | 35.0 | .529 | .143 | .824 | 5.7 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 26.4 |
| 1984–85 | Denver | 81 | 81 | 36.1 | .518 | .200 | .829 | 5.7 | 4.2 | 1.2 | .6 | 27.9 |
| 1985–86 | Denver | 81 | 81 | 37.3 | .504 | .200 | .862 | 5.0 | 4.0 | .9 | .4 | 29.8 |
| 1986–87 | Denver | 82 | 82 | 37.6 | .503 | .267 | .844 | 4.2 | 5.1 | .9 | .3 | 28.6 |
| 1987–88 | Denver | 80 | 80 | 35.2 | .495 | .000 | .828 | 4.7 | 4.7 | .9 | .3 | 25.0 |
| 1988–89 | Denver | 82 | 82 | 36.5 | .491 | .250 | .858 | 4.0 | 4.7 | .8 | .1 | 26.5 |
| 1989–90 | Denver | 80 | 80 | 27.6 | .491 | .400 | .880 | 3.6 | 2.8 | .6 | .3 | 17.9 |
| 1990–91 | Dallas | 79 | 26 | 22.1 | .439 | .000 | .850 | 3.2 | 1.3 | .5 | .3 | 9.7 |
| Career | 1,193 | 753 | 31.9 | .507 | .217 | .832 | 5.5 | 3.6 | .9 | .7 | 21.5 | |
| All-Star | 8 | 4 | 18.5 | .500 | .000 | .500 | 2.3 | 1.9 | .8 | .5 | 9.1 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Milwaukee | 9 | – | 23.1 | .615 | – | .781 | 4.7 | 1.4 | .7 | .8 | 13.4 |
| 1982 | Denver | 3 | – | 39.3 | .473 | .000 | .857 | 7.7 | 5.7 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 19.3 |
| 1983 | Denver | 7 | – | 38.6 | .447 | .000 | .887 | 6.3 | 6.0 | .6 | 1.0 | 25.9 |
| 1984 | Denver | 5 | – | 40.6 | .588 | .000 | .893 | 8.0 | 5.6 | .6 | .4 | 29.0 |
| 1985 | Denver | 14 | 14 | 38.3 | .536 | .000 | .890 | 6.6 | 4.5 | 1.2 | .4 | 30.2 |
| 1986 | Denver | 10 | 10 | 39.4 | .463 | .000 | .859 | 3.5 | 5.2 | .4 | .4 | 27.3 |
| 1987 | Denver | 3 | 3 | 25.3 | .510 | .000 | .857 | 4.7 | 3.3 | .0 | .0 | 18.7 |
| 1988 | Denver | 11 | 11 | 39.8 | .455 | .000 | .814 | 5.4 | 4.4 | .6 | .3 | 24.3 |
| 1989 | Denver | 3 | 3 | 36.0 | .516 | .000 | .875 | 4.3 | 3.7 | .3 | .0 | 26.0 |
| 1990 | Denver | 3 | 3 | 25.3 | .568 | .000 | .818 | 3.0 | 3.0 | .7 | .3 | 19.7 |
| Career | 68 | 44 | 35.7 | .503 | .000 | .862 | 5.5 | 4.3 | .7 | .5 | 24.4 |
Per-game averages. † won an NBA championship · * led the league · ‡ NBA record (as marked).
Profile observation date unavailable.
- Height
- 6′ 8″
- Weight
- 190 lb
- Position
- Small forward
- Jersey
- Not listed
- Country
- USA
- School / last affiliation
- Not listed
- Draft year
- 1976
- Draft pick
- Round 2 · Pick 23
Height, Weight, Position, Country, Draft year, Draft pick: blank in the NBA.com profile, filled from the Wikipedia infobox credited in the About section above.
Roster observations
These dates show when our saved NBA directory observations listed this player with a team. They are not signing, trade or contract dates, and this is not a complete career history.
No roster observations are stored for this player. Historical profile details above do not establish a current team assignment.
Profile source
Biographical fields reflect the saved official profile at the check time shown above. Team assignments use the dated directory evidence in Roster observations. Offseason rosters and jersey numbers can change.
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