NBA Playoffs: The 30 most unforgettable individual playoff runs
By Corey Rausch
NBA: The 30 most unforgettable individual playoff runs: 27. Alex English (1985)
The Denver Nuggets of the 1980s were never all that real of a title contender but they were one of the most dynamic offensive units of their time. Alex English was exemplary in the 1985 playoffs, averaging 30.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He shot 53.6 percent from the floor and helped push the Nuggets to the brink of the NBA Finals.
The Nuggets got past fellow ABA holdover, the San Antonio Spurs, in six games in the first round before sending the Utah Jazz home in five games. Over those first two rounds, English never scored less than 26 points in a game and dropped 40 against the Jazz in a seven-point Game 4 win.
In the Conference Finals, the Lakers were just too much for the Nuggets to handle. He dropped 40 on them in Game 2 to beat the Lakers but would break his thumb in Game 4, depriving the Nuggets of any true chance of battling back in the series.
Despite the bitter end that does not change how explosive English was along the way and for a generation of Nuggets fans, this would be the precursor to the teams of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson to Andre Iguodala and Ty Lawson and to the current era of the MVP of the league.