Alex English

Alex English
Alex English
Born	January 5, 1954 (age 72); Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Professional basketball player, coach, entrepreneur
Years active	1976–1992 (player), 2001–2013 (coach)
Known for	NBA player for Denver Nuggets, 8× NBA All-Star, NBA scoring champion (1982–83), Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee (1997)

Alexander English (born January 5, 1954), also known by the moniker The Blade, is a retired American professional basketball player, coach, and entrepreneur.

Hailing from South Carolina, English played his collegiate basketball with the South Carolina Gamecocks. He entered the National Basketball Association (NBA) after being chosen in the second round of the 1976 draft. Primarily a small forward, English became a standout figure for the Denver Nuggets throughout the 1980s. His decade-long stint with Denver (1979–1989) saw the team reach the NBA playoffs nine consecutive times, secure two Midwest Division championships, and advance to the 1985 Western Conference Finals. Across a 15-season NBA career spanning four franchises, he maintained averages of 21.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest. English led all NBA scorers during the 1980s, earning eight NBA All-Star nods and three selections to the All-NBA Second Team. He was the league’s top scorer in the 1982–83 season. The Denver Nuggets honored him by retiring his number 2 jersey in 1992, and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997.

Following his playing days, English contributed to the NBA organization, served as an assistant coach for several teams, pursued business interests, occasionally acted, and took on the role of an NBA ambassador. He is currently a member of the University of South Carolina’s board of trustees.

Early life

Born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina, English spent part of his youth living with his grandmother while his parents worked in New York. During this time, he often survived on just one meal each day.

He attended Dreher High School in Columbia, where his number 22 jersey was officially retired on January 31, 2020.

College career

Between 1972 and 1976, English was a consistent starter for the University of South Carolina, becoming one of the institution’s earliest notable African-American athletes. He amassed a school-record 1,972 points alongside more than 1,000 rebounds and maintained a shooting accuracy exceeding 50%. English received honors from two independent All-America teams in both 1975 and 1976. Beyond athletics, he cultivated enduring passions for art, sculpture, literature, and poetry. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English upon graduation in 1976.

Milwaukee Bucks (1976–1978)

Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks as the 23rd overall pick in the second round of the 1976 NBA draft, English found it challenging to earn consistent minutes behind established players such as Bob Dandridge, Junior Bridgeman, and Brian Winters under coach Don Nelson. Nevertheless, during the 1978 NBA Playoffs, he averaged 13.4 points per game off the bench—the third-highest scorer for Milwaukee—contributing to their series win over the Suns before being eliminated by Denver in a seven-game Western Conference semifinals matchup.

Indiana Pacers (1978–1980)

Seeking greater playing opportunities after the 1977–78 season, English signed as a free agent with the Indiana Pacers. There, he secured a starting role and emerged as a reliable scorer, posting an average of 16 points per game during the 1978–79 season while playing for a team undergoing rebuilding.

Denver Nuggets (1980–1990)

English was traded to the Denver Nuggets midway through the 1979–80 season in exchange for former Pacers standout George McGinnis, who was approaching the twilight of his career. Upon joining Denver, English quickly established himself as a leading figure on the team.

In his first complete season with the Nuggets (1980–81), English posted a then-career-best average of 23.8 points per game. The next season, he improved to 25.4 points per game, played a crucial role in guiding Denver to the playoffs, and received both All-Star recognition and a place on the All-NBA Second Team. During the 1982–83 campaign, English secured the NBA scoring title by averaging 28.4 points per game, with teammate Kiki Vandeweghe finishing as runner-up. He consistently ranked among the league’s top scorers in subsequent years.

Following Vandeweghe’s departure before the 1984–85 season, English elevated his scoring output to 27.9 points per contest, propelling Denver to a division crown and the second seed in the Western Conference. In the 1985 postseason, he maintained an impressive 30.2 points per game average as the Nuggets advanced to the Western Conference Finals but fell to the eventual champions, the Los Angeles Lakers. A thumb injury suffered by English in Game 4 necessitated surgery and sidelined him for the remainder of the series—a setback widely regarded as pivotal in Denver’s loss.

The 1985–86 season saw English achieve a career-high scoring average of 29.8 points per game, ranking third in league scoring behind Dominique Wilkins and Adrian Dantley. He contributed a personal best of 16 points off the bench during the 1986 NBA All-Star Game. In that year’s playoffs, English led Denver past Portland but was eliminated in six games by the eventual Western Conference champion Houston Rockets, matching his franchise playoff scoring record with a 42-point effort during a double-overtime defeat.

English was honored with the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in 1988 for his community involvement. On March 10, 1989, he tallied 51 points along with nine assists in an overtime loss to the Miami Heat, notably accomplishing this without attempting any three-point shots.

Following a decline in performance during the 1989–90 season, where his scoring average fell to 17.9 points per game, English entered free agency and was not re-signed by Denver.

Dallas Mavericks (1990–1991)

At age 36, English inked a one-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks, coming off the bench and averaging just under 10 points each game. His final NBA appearance came during his tenure with Dallas in 1991.

Napoli (1991–1992)

After remaining unsigned by any NBA team for the 1991–92 season, English continued his professional career overseas with Italy’s Basket Napoli before retiring from basketball.

Legacy

When departing from the Denver Nuggets, English held nearly all significant franchise records, including career points (21,645), assists (3,679), games played (837), minutes logged (29,893), and highest scoring average (25.9). The Nuggets retired his jersey number 2 in 1992 as a tribute. As of 2019, English ranks nineteenth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with a total of 25,613 points. Throughout his career, he was selected to eight NBA All-Star games and earned All-NBA Second Team honors on three occasions. During his era, Denver qualified for nine straight playoff appearances and secured two Midwest Division titles with English as a cornerstone player.

English concluded his NBA career averaging 21.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He was notably the first player in league history to score at least 2,000 points for eight consecutive seasons and led all scorers throughout the 1980s decade. Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997, he was ranked as the seventy-first greatest player in NBA history by The Athletic during their coverage of the league’s 75th Anniversary in 2021.

Coaching career

English began his coaching journey in the National Basketball Development League (currently known as the NBA G League) as the head coach of the North Charleston Lowgators during the league's first season in 2001–02. The Lowgators finished tied for the top spot in the regular season but were defeated in the championship round.

Prior to the 2002-03 NBA season, English became part of the Atlanta Hawks coaching team, and the following year he transitioned to serve as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers. In 2004, he took on dual roles with the Toronto Raptors as assistant coach and director of player development. He stayed with Toronto until 2011, including a contract extension in 2009, before being released when Dwane Casey assumed head coaching duties.

On January 13, 2012, English joined the coaching staff of the Sacramento Kings under head coach Keith Smart. However, in June 2013, new Kings head coach Michael Malone announced that English and several other assistant coaches would not continue for the 2013–14 season.

Sports

English was appointed as the inaugural director of player programs for the National Basketball Players Association.

In November 2014, he was hired by SEC Network to serve as a color commentator.

Since 2014, English has been actively engaged in the Sports Diplomacy's Sports Envoy initiative under the U.S. Department of State. His travels included Italy, South Korea, and Chile, where he collaborated alongside Nykesha Sales and Candace Wiggins to conduct basketball clinics benefiting over 1,900 young people from underserved communities. This initiative aligns with Sports Diplomacy’s goal to foster youth engagement and encourage democratic stability.

Additionally, English serves as an NBA ambassador for Basketball Without Borders and has contributed as an instructor at NBA academies worldwide.

Business

Together with his wife Vanessa, English owned Wendy's franchises located in South Carolina. He also established GreenSmart Botanicals, a company specializing in hemp-based products.

Acting

English made his acting debut in the 1987 film Amazing Grace and Chuck, playing a fictional star of the Boston Celtics. He appeared on television in Midnight Caller (1989) and portrayed the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers in Eddie (1996). In 1997, he took on the role of "The Premiere" in The Definite Maybe. In 1993, English starred alongside Ralph Coleman, a former Dallas Cowboys linebacker convicted of murder, in a U.S. Department of Justice film promoting drug avoidance.

In 2007, English acted in Lumera, a production directed by his son Alex Jr., who also directed the 2013 TV special The Nothing But Net Show featuring English.

Personal life

As of 2020, English resides in Blythewood, South Carolina.

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 60 || 6 || 10.8 || .477 || – || .767 || 2.8 || .4 || .3 || .3 || 3.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 82 || 4 || 18.9 || .542 || – || .727 || 4.8 || 1.6 || .5 || .7 || 9.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Indiana | 81 || 69 || 33.3 || .511 || – || .752 || 8.1 || 3.3 || .9 || 1.0 || 16.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Indiana | 54 || 15 || 28.3 || .504 || .000 || .814 || 7.0 || 2.6 || .8 || .6 || 14.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Denver | 24 || 24 || 36.5 || .485 || .667 || .762 || 9.4 || 3.4 || 1.2 || 1.2 || 21.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Denver | 81 || 81 || 38.2 || .494 || .600 || .850 || 8.0 || 3.6 || 1.3 || 1.2 || 23.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Denver | 82|| 82||36.8|| .551|| .000|| .840||6.8|| 5.3||1.1|| 1.5||25.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Denver | 82|| 82||36.4|| .516|| .167|| .829||7.3||4.8|| 1.4|| 1.5||bgcolor="CFECEC"|28.4* |- | style="text-align:left;" |

| style="text-align:left;" | Denver
| 82||77||35.0|| .529|| .143|| .824||5.7||5.0||1.0||1.2||26.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 
| style="text-align:left;" | Denver
|81||81||36.1|| .518|| .200|| .829||5.7||4.2||1.2|| .6||27.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 
| style="text-align:left;" | Denver
|81||81||37.3|| .504|| .200|| .862||5.0||4.0|| .9|| .4||| 29.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 
| style="text-align:left;" | Denver
| 82|| 82||37.6|| .503|| .267|| .844||4.2|||5.1||| .9||| .3|||28.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 
| style="text-align:left;" | Denver
|80|||80|||35.2||| .495||| .000||| .828|||4.7|||4..7||| ..9||| ..3|||25..0
|- 
| style="text-align:left;" |  
| style="text-align:left;" | Denver 
| 82||| 82|||36..5||| ..491||| ..250||| ..858|||4..0|||..47||| ..8||| ..1|||26..5 
|- 
| style="text-align:left;" |  
| style="text-align:left;" | Denver 
|80|||80|||27..6||| ..491||| ..400||| ..880|||3..6|||2..8||| ..6||| ..3|||17..9 
|- 
| style="text-align:left;" |  
| style="text-align:left;" | Dallas 
|79|||26|||22..1||| ..439||| ..000||| ..850|||3..2|||1..3||| ..5||| ..3|||9..7 
|- class="sortbottom" 
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career 
|1,193|||753|||31..9||| ..507||| ..217a)||832||||5..5||||36||||09||||07||||21..5

The three-point line was introduced by the NBA starting with the 1979–80 campaign.

Playoff Performance

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 1978 | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 9 || – || 23.1 || .615 || – || .781 || 4.7 || 1.4 || .7 || .8 || 13.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1982 | style="text-align:left;"| Denver | 3 || – || 39.3 || .473 || .000 || .857 || 7.7 || 5.7 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 19.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1983 | style="text-align:left;"| Denver | 7 || – || 38.6 || .447 || .000 || .887 || 6.3 || 6.0 || .6 || 1.0 || 25.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1984 | style="text-align:left;"| Denver | 5 || – || 40.6 || .588 || .000 || .893 || 8.0 || 5.6 || .6 || .4 || 29.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1985 | style="text-align:left;"| Denver | 14 || 14 || 38.3 || .536 || .000 || .890 || 6.6 || 4.5 || 1.2 || .4 || 30.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1986 | style="text-align:left;"| Denver | 10 || 10 || 39.4 || .463 || .000 || .859 || 3.5 || 5.2 || .4 || .4 || 27.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1987 | style="text-align:left;"| Denver | 3 || 3|| 25.3|| .510|| .000|| .857|| 4.7|| 3.3|| .0|| .0||18.7 |- | style="text-align:left;" | 1988 | style="text-align:left;" | Denver

|11||11||39.8||.455||.000||.814||5.4||4.4||.6||.3||24.3

|-

| style="text-align:left;" | 1989
| style="text-align:left;" | Denver
|3||3||36.0||.516||.000||.875||4.3||3.7||.3||.0||26.0

|-

| style="text-align:left;" | 1990
| style="text-align:left;" | Denver
|3||3||25.3||.568||.000||.818||3.0||3.0||.7||.3||19.7

|- class="sortbottom"

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career Totals
|68||44||35.7||.503||.000||.862||5.5||4.3||.7||.5||24.4

The three-point shot was introduced in the NBA starting with the 1979–80 campaign.
Some statistics may not be fully comprehensive.

External links