Shame theres not enough footage of English playing. One of the greatest shooters to ever play this game. Michael Adams was pretty damn good too on that Denver team.
He shoots from all different types of angles and his up n under’s are ridiculous because he has multiple counters to it. This man is a very skilled scorer.
That Jazz music near the end in the loudspeaker where they show the replay of English scoring his 50 and 51st point is so fitting of the man and the type of player he was. Smooth, in control and professional.
As a nuggets fan give him Melo's spot. I love Carmelo Anthony and he was great for Denver and an almost great player. But all he could do is shoot. Alex English was a much more complete SF and scored more points in the 80's than any other player. The fact that he is not on the all time 75 list is a testament to the fact that Alex English has the all time most disrespected career in the NBA.
English was not an exciting player, he didn't dunk much, no 'sex appeal', his passes were basic and he wasn't breaking ankles like today's players. But he got it done from mid range, shot 51 percent, 4 apg and scored more points than anyone in the 1980s. That's insane.
Right. He just had an uncanny way of getting off a good, comfortable shot (for him) that confounded defenders. Reminds me of Bird and earlier, Walt Frazier in that regard.
Unlucky in the sense that he was overshadowed by them. He certainly more than held his own and the players and coaches sure knew who he was. Even if some casual fans in other areas of the country didn't.
With the Lakers and (to a lesser degree) Rockets dominating the West, it's easy to forget all the really talented players in the West on other teams in the 80s like Dallas (Blackmon, Aguirre, Vincent, Perkins, Harper), San Antonio (Alvin Robertson), Seattle (Tom Chambers, Xavier McDaniel, Dale Ellis), Portland (Clyde, Porter, Kersey, Duckworth), Phoenix (Davis, Johnson, Hornacek) , Utah (Griffith, Green, young Stockton/Malone, Eaton) and Denver (English, Adams).
Alex English's game showed the biggest difference between the game of the 1980's and today. Nobody I can think of today has anything like the mid-range game English had. It's now turned into a game of dunks and 3s.
+torry rabb Looked up his stat line and videos. Not a bad comparison though he doesn't seem to yet have the subtlety and fullness of English's mid-range game. In fairness it took until well into the 21st century before NBA teams really started fully using the 3 pointer as a regular part of their game. In the 1980s the 3 pointer was somewhat of an exotic and desperate trick shot mostly only used when teams were way behind. Once you start regularly hitting 40% from 3 and knocking down 6 or 7 out of 10 open 3 pointers it can't help but change the spacing and pace on the floor. Guys are simply stronger and fitter now and the 3 point shot isn't almost a reckless heave like it used to be.
+chitownkidd33 It's not that they can't do it, it's that it isn't a central, bread and butter part of their game the same way it used to be. Steph Curry has one of the prettiest and most effective 10 foot floaters in NBA history but he doesn't usually use it more than once or twice a game. Alex English (and others from that time like Kelly Tripucka, Kiki Vandeweghe, etc.) COULDN'T hit 3 pointers regularly and had to build his game around lots of subtle moves in the post, on the wing, cuts off screens, etc. It's just that the game itself was quite frankly less athletic and so players had to develop more variety of moves inside the 3 point line.
zyxwut321 Players back than couldn't shoot 3s so therefore they really didn't have to be so versatile from beyond the free throw line. Even a no name 8 ppg scorer in today's leage is top 100 in 3 pointers made on the all time list. Let's take a look at Russel Westbrook, nobody talks about his full speed pull up 15-18 footer which is absolutely unguardable. Or Chris Paul who is almost unguardable on the screen and roll with his step back 15-18 footer. The mid range is there, it's just so much more is going on in the course of a game, people forget about it easier.
That last play in double overtime doe moe should have called a play to isolate english the man had 51 Dam points already! Why the fuck would you let Walter Davis take the game winning shot. Give the ball to Alex Stupid! lol either way classic game thanks for the upload
Bird , Erving , Barry , English , Pippen , Havlicek , Worthy , Wilkins , Baylor , Leonard. … My top small forwards in order… Lebron is # 13 just below B King.
Shame theres not enough footage of English playing. One of the greatest shooters to ever play this game. Michael Adams was pretty damn good too on that Denver team.
Scoop around my channel to find more footage of him.
+BlackMist wasnt he known for his layups making ability with a little bit of "English"? cant seem to find highlights, all isee are midrange shots
Yes he was.
And Lafayette "Fat" Lever!
i wouldn't call him a shooter per se. he did have a leaner that was pure money though
He shoots from all different types of angles and his up n under’s are ridiculous because he has multiple counters to it. This man is a very skilled scorer.
People don't realize this but English was 35 years old in this game. Only him, Kobe, and MJ have dropped 50 or more points past the age of 35.
And Karl Malone
And lebron now
That Jazz music near the end in the loudspeaker where they show the replay of English scoring his 50 and 51st point is so fitting of the man and the type of player he was. Smooth, in control and professional.
Love the old Nuggets jerseys.
Alex English one of the greatest was a scoring machine while making it look easy
Wow his form is absolutely incredible he's got the quickest release in the mid range I've ever seen
Alex English was 35 years old in this game. To put things in perspective, the oldest player to ever score 50+ points is... Michael Jordan, at age 38.
Probably the most underrated player ever in the nba
Watch Rony Seikaly at 9:43 on the bench behind English.
lol, actually players on the Heat bench begin reacting to Alex's makes at about the 06:48 mark. There are two/three others before Seikaly at 09:43.
How us this guy not on NBA 75 team ? There's a bunch of player u could take off that list 💯
As a nuggets fan give him Melo's spot. I love Carmelo Anthony and he was great for Denver and an almost great player. But all he could do is shoot. Alex English was a much more complete SF and scored more points in the 80's than any other player. The fact that he is not on the all time 75 list is a testament to the fact that Alex English has the all time most disrespected career in the NBA.
English was not an exciting player, he didn't dunk much, no 'sex appeal', his passes were basic and he wasn't breaking ankles like today's players. But he got it done from mid range, shot 51 percent, 4 apg and scored more points than anyone in the 1980s. That's insane.
Right. He just had an uncanny way of getting off a good, comfortable shot (for him) that confounded defenders. Reminds me of Bird and earlier, Walt Frazier in that regard.
Jokic carried that torch and finally got the chip for him. English was so unfairly underrated.
The Mid Range Master!
another great superstar who was "unlucky" to play in the same era with drj,magic,bird,moses,kareem and then mj!
Unlucky in the sense that he was overshadowed by them. He certainly more than held his own and the players and coaches sure knew who he was. Even if some casual fans in other areas of the country didn't.
Denver was entertaining to watch with Kiki, English and Issel.
run gun team
With the Lakers and (to a lesser degree) Rockets dominating the West, it's easy to forget all the really talented players in the West on other teams in the 80s like Dallas (Blackmon, Aguirre, Vincent, Perkins, Harper), San Antonio (Alvin Robertson), Seattle (Tom Chambers, Xavier McDaniel, Dale Ellis), Portland (Clyde, Porter, Kersey, Duckworth), Phoenix (Davis, Johnson, Hornacek) , Utah (Griffith, Green, young Stockton/Malone, Eaton) and Denver (English, Adams).
Alex English is very good at the mid range. Good at and-1's and is a pure shooter
It's a shame he is mostly forgotten now by most people
this dude had a weird herby jerry game but it worked English was a scoring machine
Alex English's game showed the biggest difference between the game of the 1980's and today. Nobody I can think of today has anything like the mid-range game English had. It's now turned into a game of dunks and 3s.
look up tj warren
+torry rabb Looked up his stat line and videos. Not a bad comparison though he doesn't seem to yet have the subtlety and fullness of English's mid-range game. In fairness it took until well into the 21st century before NBA teams really started fully using the 3 pointer as a regular part of their game. In the 1980s the 3 pointer was somewhat of an exotic and desperate trick shot mostly only used when teams were way behind. Once you start regularly hitting 40% from 3 and knocking down 6 or 7 out of 10 open 3 pointers it can't help but change the spacing and pace on the floor. Guys are simply stronger and fitter now and the 3 point shot isn't almost a reckless heave like it used to be.
Not true, look at Durant or Prime Wade. It's just players now have expanded range and more moves offensively.
+chitownkidd33 It's not that they can't do it, it's that it isn't a central, bread and butter part of their game the same way it used to be. Steph Curry has one of the prettiest and most effective 10 foot floaters in NBA history but he doesn't usually use it more than once or twice a game. Alex English (and others from that time like Kelly Tripucka, Kiki Vandeweghe, etc.) COULDN'T hit 3 pointers regularly and had to build his game around lots of subtle moves in the post, on the wing, cuts off screens, etc. It's just that the game itself was quite frankly less athletic and so players had to develop more variety of moves inside the 3 point line.
zyxwut321 Players back than couldn't shoot 3s so therefore they really didn't have to be so versatile from beyond the free throw line. Even a no name 8 ppg scorer in today's leage is top 100 in 3 pointers made on the all time list.
Let's take a look at Russel Westbrook, nobody talks about his full speed pull up 15-18 footer which is absolutely unguardable. Or Chris Paul who is almost unguardable on the screen and roll with his step back 15-18 footer.
The mid range is there, it's just so much more is going on in the course of a game, people forget about it easier.
He is my uncle for real
Hey brother. Where would be the best place to find heat vs Knicks 1989 to 1992
Ask any kid today who scored the most points in the 80's, they'll never give the right answer. :-)
so smooth
How does English rank as a defender. Is he average, slightly above or below or what?
Probably fair, so-so. In another, no worse than Wilkins, Dantley, Aguirre, Vandeweghe. Probably at least as good or better.
Dave Gould He's generally seen as worse than average, but not really bad
He didn't play defense much at all. He was, when he focused on it, an adequate rebounder.
great shooter
Commentator went crazy at 2:37😂
He was smooth.
That last play in double overtime doe moe should have called a play to isolate english the man had 51 Dam points already! Why the fuck would you let Walter Davis take the game winning shot. Give the ball to Alex Stupid! lol either way classic game thanks for the upload
we got his jersey
how did they lose to this heat team they were god awful only in there 2nd year as a team
Bird , Erving , Barry , English , Pippen , Havlicek , Worthy , Wilkins , Baylor , Leonard. … My top small forwards in order… Lebron is # 13 just below B King.
He is that quintessential 80s deer, like Bernard King, or Larry Bird if he had actual hops
I can't lie, I found out just today.
better than kobe or le bron
I can't lie, I found out just today.