A South Carolina native, English played college basketball at the University of South Carolina. He was drafted in the second round of the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft in 1976. English played the small forward position and was a star player for the Denver Nuggets in the 1980s. During his Nuggets tenure (1979-1989), the team made the NBA playoffs nine consecutive times, won two Midwest Division titles, and reached the 1985 Western Conference Finals. English played 15 seasons in the NBA for four teams, averaging 21.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. English scored more points than any other NBA player during the 1980s. He was named to eight NBA All-Star teams and made the All-NBA Second Team three times. His number 2 jersey was retired by the Denver Nuggets in 1992, and he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997.