Alex English
A scoring machine with a poet's soul, he quietly dominated the 1980s NBA as its most consistent and elegant point producer.
Born 1954 (age 72)·American basketball player/coach·Birthday: January 5·Baby Boomers
Biography
Alex English entered the NBA as a second-round pick, a slender forward whose graceful, almost languid style belied a fierce competitive engine. While flashier stars grabbed headlines, English perfected a deadly array of turnaround jumpers and sly drives, operating with a quiet efficiency from the left block. His career found its apex with the Denver Nuggets, where he became the centerpiece of the league's most explosive offense. For eight consecutive seasons, he averaged over 25 points per game, a streak of scoring consistency unmatched in his era. In 1983, he captured the scoring title not with fanfare but with relentless production, becoming the first player in a decade to top 2,000 points in a season for five straight years. Off the court, English was an anomaly—a published poet and thoughtful artist who saw the game as a form of expression, proving that a killer instinct could coexist with profound introspection.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Alex was born in 1954, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Alex Was Born
The biggest hits of 1954
#1 Movie
White Christmas
Best Picture
On the Waterfront
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Alex's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1954Born
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1959Started school
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1967Became a teenager
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1970Could drive
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1972Could vote
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1975Turned 21
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1984Turned 30
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1994Turned 40
Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $90,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"The Sign" — Ace of BaseBest Picture: Forrest Gump
2004Turned 50
Indian Ocean tsunami kills over 230,000
Gas: $1.88/galHome: $157,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Yeah!" — UsherBest Picture: Million Dollar Baby
2014Turned 60
Russia annexes Crimea; Ebola outbreak in West Africa
Gas: $3.37/galHome: $160,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Happy" — Pharrell WilliamsBest Picture: Birdman
2024Turned 70
AI reshapes industries; Paris Olympics
Gas: $3.31/galHome: $372,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Espresso" — Sabrina CarpenterBest Picture: Anora
2026Age 72 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Led the NBA in total points scored during the entire decade of the 1980s.
- Won the NBA scoring title for the 1982-83 season, averaging 28.4 points per game.
- Was named to eight consecutive NBA All-Star teams from 1982 to 1989.
- Had his jersey number 2 retired by the Denver Nuggets in 1993.
Did You Know?
He published a book of poetry titled 'The Silent Poets of the NBA' in 1989.
He is the only NBA player to have eight consecutive seasons with 2,000 or more points and 300 or more assists.
After retiring, he served as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers and later as head coach of the NBA G League's North Charleston Lowgators.
He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997.
“Basketball is an art, and you have to paint your own picture.”
