Alex English

Alexander English (born January 5, 1954) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and businessman.

A South Carolina native, English played college basketball at the University of South Carolina.

English attended the University of South Carolina in Columbia from 1972 to 1976.

He started every game over a four-year career and was arguably the first African-American sports star at the school.

He scored a record 1,972 points and was only the third player at the school to record over 1,000 rebounds and connect on better than 50% of his field-goal attempts.

English was selected to two independent All-America teams in 1975 and 1976.

In the academic realm, English "developed interests that he still maintains in art, sculpture, literature, and, especially poetry."

He was drafted in the second round of the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft in 1976.

He graduated with a bachelor's degree in English in 1976.

English was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the 1976 NBA draft with the 23rd pick.

Playing behind notable wings such as Bob Dandridge, Junior Bridgeman, and Brian Winters, English struggled to break into coach Don Nelson's rotation.

Frustrated with a lack of playing time, English signed with the Indiana Pacers as a free agent after the 1977–78 season.

Despite this, English showed promise during the 1978 NBA Playoffs, averaging 13.4 points per game (third highest of all Bucks players that postseason) off the bench while helping the Bucks past the Suns in the first round, before losing to the Nuggets in a seven-game western conference semifinals series.

English became a starter in Indiana and began to establish a reputation as a scorer, averaging 16 points per game during the 1978–79 season on another rebuilding team.

Though coming off of an All-Star season in 1978–79, McGinnis was only a shadow of his former self and was out of the league by 1982.

English went on to become a star player for the Nuggets.

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 was traded to the Denver Nuggets midway through the 1979–80 season for George McGinnis, a former Pacers star from their ABA days.

English played the small forward position and was a star player for the Denver Nuggets in the 1980s.

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.

In his first full season with the Nuggets in 1980–81, English averaged a then-career high 23.8 points.

In the 1981–82 season, English averaged 25.4 points and the team advanced to postseason play.

He earned a position on the All-Star Team and All-NBA Second Team.

English led the NBA in scoring in the 1982–83 season.

The following year, in 1982–83, English won the league scoring title with an average of 28.4 points per game, while teammate Kiki VanDeWeghe placed second averaging 26.7 points.

Then in 1983–84 English placed fourth in the league in scoring.

In the 1984–85 season English raised his scoring average to 27.9 points to pick up some of the slack from Kiki VanDeWeghe's departure.

Denver won its division and secured the second seed in the Western Conference.

In the 1985 playoffs, English averaged 30.2 points as the Nuggets defeated the San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz to meet the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, where they would fall to the eventual NBA-champion Lakers in five games.

English suffered a right thumb injury in Game 4, which required surgery and rendered him unable to play for the rest of the series.

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.

English was born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina.

For some of his childhood, he and his siblings lived with their grandmother while their parents worked in New York.

During this time, English often subsisted on a single meal per day.

English attended Dreher High School in Columbia.

On January 31, 2020, his number 22 jersey was retired by the high school.