50 Greatest NBA Players Without A Championship (Updated Through 2015-16)
By Phil Watson
32. Alex English
Milwaukee Bucks 1976-78, Indiana Pacers 1978-80, Denver Nuggets 1980-90, Dallas Mavericks 1990-91
The Milwaukee Bucks took a chance on “The Blade,” a rail-thin small forward out of South Carolina, with a second-round pick in 1976.
After a slow start, English evolved into a rotation contributor in his second season and in the 1978 playoffs, English helped the Bucks upset the Phoenix Suns and push the Denver Nuggets to seven games in the second round.
In June 1978, English signed with the Pacers as a veteran free agent, with Indiana giving up its 1979 first-round pick as compensation.
The Pacers missed the postseason in 1979 and in February 1980, English was dealt to the Nuggets in the trade that would define his career.
That’s because one he got to Denver, he soared at least a mile high. He was a three-time All-NBA player for the Nuggets and was picked for eight All-Star games. In 1982-93, he was sixth in the MVP voting and he placed eighth in 1985-86.
He also led the NBA in scoring in 1982-83.
The Nuggets got back to the playoffs in 1982 and reached the second round in 1983, where they went down in five games to the San Antonio Spurs.
After another first-round defeat in 1984, Denver survived five games with the Spurs and knocked out the Utah Jazz in five games to reach the Western Conference Finals. But the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers were too much and won in five games.
A second-round exit to the Houston Rockets ended the 1986 campaign and they were bounced in 1988 in the second round by the Dallas Mavericks after a first-round exit the year before. In 1989 and 1990, Denver was swept out of the first round each year.
In August 1990, English signed as a free agent with the Mavericks. He was released in May 1991 after the team missed the postseason.
The NBA was done with English, but he played one season Basket Napoli in Naples, Italy, before retiring in 1992.
The top scoring player in the NBA in the 1980s, English spent one year each as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks before serving seven years as an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors. He worked in 2012-13 as an assistant for the Sacramento Kings and also did some acting in the 1980s and 1990s.
English is 15th in NBA history with 25,613 points and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997. He is currently an analyst for the SEC Network and was an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings from 2002-13.
The final tally on English’s playoff career:
NBA Finals: 0-0
Conference Finals: 0-1
Conference Semifinals: 1-4
First Round: 5-5
Next: 31. Dream Teamer Got To Finals Just Once