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.

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.

[4] Playing behind notable wings such as Bob Dandridge, Junior Bridgeman, and Brian Winters, English struggled to break into coach Don Nelson's rotation.

[6] Frustrated with a lack of playing time, English signed with the Indiana Pacers as a free agent after the 1977–78 season.

English became a starter in Indiana and began to establish a reputation as a scorer, averaging 16 points per game during the 1978–79 season on another rebuilding team.

[4] English was traded to the Denver Nuggets midway through the 1979–80 season for George McGinnis, a former Pacers star from their ABA days.

[4] In the 1984–85 season English raised his scoring average to 27.9 points to pick up some of the slack from Kiki Vandeweghe's departure.

English suffered a right thumb injury in Game 4,[10] which required surgery and rendered him unable to play for the rest of the series.

"[14] English recorded his career-best average of 29.8 points per game in the subsequent 1985–86 season, finishing third in the league behind Dominique Wilkins and Adrian Dantley.

[15] In the final game of the series, on May 8, 1986, English tied his own Nuggets single-game playoff points record with 42 during a 126-122 double overtime loss.

[17][18] On March 10, 1989, English scored 51 points, notably without attempting any three-point shots, and recorded nine assists during a 131–130 overtime loss to the Miami Heat.

[4] At age 36, English signed a one-year contract with the Dallas Mavericks where he once again played off the bench, this time averaging just under 10 points per game.

[23] During his Nuggets tenure, the team made the NBA playoffs nine consecutive times and won two Midwest Division titles.

In this function, he has traveled to Italy, the Republic of Korea, and Chile, where he worked with Nykesha Sales and Candace Wiggins to conduct basketball clinics and events that reached more than 1900 youth from underserved areas.

In so doing, English helped contribute to Sports Diplomacy's mission to reach out to youth populations in order to promote growth and a stable democratic government.

His acting debut came in the 1987 motion picture Amazing Grace and Chuck, playing a fictitious Boston Celtics star.

[39] He then had roles in the television series Midnight Caller in some 1989 episodes and played the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers in Eddie (1996).