Forgotten Ballers: Alex English
Alex English going up for a shot. (Photo from NBA.com)
Most of the 1980s was dominated by the Showtime Lakers and the legendary Boston Celtics teams led by Larry Bird. The Bad Boy Pistons made their mark in the late 80’s, and Michael Jordan broke out as well. But a far lesser-known player who played in a much smaller market was lighting up the league during the 1980s as well. That player is Alex English, who played 15 seasons from 1976 to 1991 but spent his prime years on the Denver Nuggets during the 1980s.
Here’s a quick NBA trivia question: Who led the NBA in total points scored between the 1979-80 season through 1988-89? Was it Larry Bird who was known for his prolific scoring and dominated the 1980s? That guess would be wrong. Maybe it was Michael Jordan? Nope. Magic Johnson was a pass-first guy, but he was so great in that era maybe it was him? Negative. It has to be Moses Malone because he was an excellent scorer, right? Wrong again. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? Adrian Dantley? Or Dominique Wilkins? No, no, and no. The answer is Alex English, who scored a whopping 21,018 points during this decade, beating out many other superstars from this era.
English’s lack of recognition as one of the best players and most prolific scorers to ever play the game likely comes from the fact that English spent 11 seasons playing for the small market Denver Nuggets, with those 11 seasons being the 11 where he averaged the most points per game. After being drafted in the second round and twenty-third overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1976 NBA draft, English would spend two years there before signing with the Indiana Pacers in the 1978 offseason seeking an opportunity for more playing time. He would spend the ‘78-79 season and part of the next season there before being traded to Denver for George McInnis. English took advantage of his playing time in Indiana, posting solid numbers in his season and a half with the Pacers. But English truly blossomed into a superstar and put the league on notice as soon as he arrived in Denver. After averaging 14 points per game in the first half of the ‘79-’80 season, his points per game immediately rose to 21.3 while playing in Denver. Two seasons later in 1982, a playoff streak of nine straight appearances would begin for Denver, with English leading the team in scoring each year. Unfortunately, Denver would fail to ever reach the finals with English, peaking with a sole Western Conference finals appearance in 1985, where they would fall to Magic Johnson and the Showtime Lakers in five games after English got injured in game four. A lack of an appearance on basketball’s biggest stage also likely dims the legacy of English compared to his peers. However, this did not make him any less of a force to be reckoned with on the court as he was scoring nearly 30 points a contest and grabbing between seven and nine rebounds a game at his peak. He led the league in scoring during the 1982-83 season as well. Yet despite all of this, the NBA disgracefully snubbed him from the 75th-anniversary team of the top 75 players of all time. But basketball fans must not make the same mistake of disrespecting this legendary baller. When reminiscing about the biggest stars of the 1980s, Alex English’s name must be included in the discussion.
