Alex English was an 8 time NBA All-Star and is working with Family Promise which is the leading national organization working to prevent and end family homelessness. On Thursday, April 28th English is this year’s co-chairman for Giving Day. There will be a 24-hour online campaign to raise awareness and support for families battling homelessness.
Tag: Alex English
“There have been some Nuggets greats – …
Time will tell if Gentry is still the …
Time will tell if Gentry is still the head coach of the Kings by the time he turns 68 on Nov. 5, 2022. Regardless of whether the Shelby, North Carolina, native is with Sacramento or elsewhere, he will always be appreciative of his time in the NBA that began in 1989 as an assistant coach under Larry Brown with the San Antonio Spurs. “Look at how the league in general has grown and what [former NBA commissioner] David Stern did to this league and how he made it so globally,” Gentry said. “I remember taking a trip to Africa [with] me, Wes Unseld and Alex English, and David Stern went. And we went to South Africa. We had dinner with Nelson Mandela. We did things like that that you could only dream of as a kid from Shelby, North Carolina.
During the 1985 Western Conference …
During the 1985 Western Conference finals, the closest English and the Nuggets got to the NBA Finals in Denver, Worthy was asked how he planned on guarding English. The Lakers forward appealed to a higher power. “Say a couple of prayers before the game,” Worthy cracked. English’s prolific production also helped put him on par with another local deity. “John Elway and Alex English,” Lever said. “Nobody cared about anybody else.”
Alex English, snubbed from the NBA’s 75 greatest players list: ‘I was even more hurt this time’
Eight-time All-Star Alex English, who was the league’s top scorer in the 1980s, was left off the NBA’s list of the 75 greatest players ever
Eight-time All-Star Alex English, who was the league’s top scorer in the 1980s, was left off the NBA’s list of the 75 greatest players ever (he made ours, though, ranking at 71st position).
English, who was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame back in 1997, was the first player in league history to ever score 2,000 points during eight consecutive seasons. He led the Denver Nuggets to the playoffs nine years in a row and later spent more than a decade as an assistant coach for several different franchises.
He caught up with HoopsHype to share some of his thoughts about the list and offered some valuable insight for other players in their retirement.
Please note this interview was minorly edited in its transcript for clarity.
Alex English is certainly not one to …
Alex English is certainly not one to tip-toe around tough topics. Since retiring from the NBA as an 8-time All Star in 1991, he has stood up for his legacy with the Denver Nuggets and for players as a crucial member of the NBA Players Association. He has now turned his attention to fighting for WNBA equality as a member of the WNBA PA Board of Advocates. “I want to see them get the respect they deserve,” explained English, the NBA’s leading scorer for the 1980s. “I know that there’s always gonna be those naysayers that say ‘well you know, they don’t make the kind of money in advertising and TV rights as the NBA Guys do.’ Yeah, but that took decades of the NBA to get to that level and the WNBA has done a great job with the PA of building that same type of support.”
English has gravitated towards the …
English has gravitated towards the women’s game more in recent years because of how pure the basketball is. “The purity of the game and the quality of the game is what drew me to [the WNBA]. In some instances, their game is even more pure to me than what you see from the men,” said the 8-time NBA All-Star. “[WNBA players] have picked up on the technical part of the game that the NBA used to have. And, now as the game has progressed, you see a lot of guys that aren’t as true to form or true to techniques as the women are.”
The WNBA’s plan is largely unknown, but …
The WNBA’s plan is largely unknown, but we do know that it will be very different from the NBA’s. Players will earn their full salaries and some will be able to bring family or caretakers with them. But, they will also have to share rooms, travel off-site for games, and have only some meals provided. English believes the inequality in player experience is simply illogical. “You’re asking the same thing from [WNBA players as you are from NBA players]: to risk their lives to give you a product that’s going to be that you sell on TV and radio and merchandise,” said English. “You are asking the same thing from the two then why not treat them the same?”
