Alex English

Alex English, born January 5, 1954, in Columbia, South Carolina, was the most prolific scorer in the NBA during the 1980s — a smooth, understated forward whose mid-range artistry and relentless consistency made him the definitive Denver Nuggets player of his era. Selected in the second round of the 1976 Draft out of the University of South Carolina, English found his basketball home in Denver after stops in Milwaukee and Indiana, and proceeded to become one of the greatest scorers in league history. From 1980 to 1990, English was the NBA's leading scorer — averaging at least 23 points per game for eight consecutive seasons. He accomplished this not through explosiveness or power, but through an impossibly refined mid-range game, elite footwork, and a quick release that made him extraordinarily difficult to defend. English's running one-hander, his pull-up off the dribble, and his ability to create space against any defender made him a prototypical scoring forward decades before the position was fully appreciated. English was selected to eight NBA All-Star Games, establishing himself alongside peers like Julius Erving and George Gervin as the premier scorers of the post-70s NBA. He finished his career with 25,613 points — at the time the most points scored in the 1980s by any player — and ranks among the top 20 all-time scorers in NBA history. His #2 jersey was retired by the Nuggets in 1992, a permanent acknowledgment of his status as the cornerstone of Denver basketball. Beyond his scoring, English was known for his professionalism, longevity, and quiet excellence. He never played on a championship team, but in the wide-open, run-and-gun Denver offenses of coach Doug Moe — featuring players like Dan Issel and Kiki Vandeweghe — he was the engine that made it all work. English also pursued poetry writing seriously during his career and published a collection, earning him a reputation as one of the most intellectually complete athletes of his generation.