Top 5 Alex English Cards
In 1983, the 37th season of the NBA, the Denver Nuggets clinched their 5th playoff appearance since moving from the ABA to the NBA. While they would go on to be eliminated in the conference semifinals to the Spurs (who would lose to the Lakers, who would lose to the Moses Malone led 76ers in the championship game), it would be a big season for the small market Nuggets. Alex English won the scoring title, averaging 28.4 points a game, and his Nuggets teammate Kiki VanDeWeghe would place 2nd, averaging 26.7 points a game. The future was bright for the Nuggets.
Sadly, the franchise would never win a championship during the bright 1980s, despite making the playoffs 7 more times, and VanDeWeghe would be traded to Portland in the summer of 1984. But Alex English would flourish, continuing to be a star scorer for the team. He would average more than 25 points a game for the next 6 seasons, hitting a career high of 29.8 points per game in 1985. Eventually, English would sign a one-year contract with the Dallas Mavericks in 1990 and retire after a brief stint in Italy in 1991. He was inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997.
The Hall of Fame, scoring legend put the Denver Nuggets on the map, but the demand for his cards is surprisingly low, making even his best cards quite affordable for collectors.
#1: 1979 Topps Basketball #31
Generally, the most desired card of English is 1979 Topps Basketball #31, which is widely considered his rookie card. Before his all-star career with the Nuggets, English played 2 seasons for the Indiana Pacers (1978 and 1979). Hence in this card, he is depicted in a Pacers uniform. The price varies widely based on the condition and if it is graded or raw. The Beckett book price range as of February 2022 is between $12 and $30, but recent eBay sales show multiple PSA 8 and 9s sold for over $60. I have bought several raw lots of this card for next to nothing, but the condition of them is quite low.
#2: Milwaukee Bucks Playing Cards
Interestingly, English was not drafted by the Pacers, but instead by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1976. No official sports cards of English were produced before 1979. However, there was a Milwaukee Bucks Playing Card Deck sponsored by White Hen Pantry in 1976 depicting players on each card, including Alex English. So, technically, the 5 of Clubs, 5 of Spades, 10 of Hearts, and 10 of Diamonds are English’s true rookie cards. These, of course, are much more rare, particularly in good condition. I bought two sealed packs of these playing cards for $70 and $80, respectively, in early 2021, but have not seen any since. In January of 2020, a PSA 10 of the 10 of Diamonds sold for $65. According to PSA population report, there are a total of 18 cards across all 4 suits graded. So, even with the rarity, still very affordable for collectors, if you can find one.
#3: 1986 Fleer Basketball #30
The next most desirable Alex English card comes from the most desirable Basketball card set of all time: 1986 Fleer Basketball #30. Now, everyone knows this set because of the Michael Jordan rookie card it contains, but it also has a mid-career Alex English card with the same iconic Fleer 86 design. The Beckett value as of February 2022 only ranges from $2 to $5, but as with many Alex English cards, condition is king. According to PSA’s appraisal tool, just days ago (Jan 26th) a PSA 10 sold for $590.00 and a PSA 9 sold for $117.50. PSA 10s of this card have been consistently high valued over the past 2 years, with sold prices ranging between $225 to $750 (and one huge outlier that sold for $2,147.00 on pwcc_vault…). Overall, its still a very affordable card, particularly compared to other cards in the set.
1986 Merchate Spanish #175
The fourth most desirable Alex English card is up for debate, but based on sheer rarity, I would say the 1986 Merchate Spanish #175 has to be it. Merchate was a Spanish trading card company in the 1980s. During their approximately 10 years of production, the brand was mostly focused on sports popular in Spain at the time, such as soccer and formula one. However, in 1985, 1986, and 1987, Merchate produced basketball sets with some American NBA players included. Most notably Michael Jordan was included as a rookie in the 1985 set.
Merchate basketball cards are very scarce, as they were only printed and distributed in Spain. Furthermore, many of them were made to be stuck in sticker-like albums, so a huge number of them are either stuck in albums or have damage on the back of the card from being removed from those albums. Alex English appeared in both the 1986 card set and in a 1987 sticker set (1987 Converse Merchante Spanish Stickers #160).
Surprisingly, despite their scarcity, many cards from this set are quite affordable. According to PSA auction database, the Alex English card from the set most recently sold for $60. I recently bought a raw copy for $25. Finding graded copies of it is quite rare: only 3 of the Alex English cards have been graded by PSA, with the highest grade being a 6.
For comparison, there are 101 of the Michael Jordan card from the set graded by PSA, with the highest grade being an 8. However, they also command a lot more money. A PSA 2 sold in November 2021 for over $900. A PSA 5 sold for $2,460.00 in March of 2021.
#5: 1996 Collector’s Edge Time Warp (Gold) #TW3
While I like many other of English’s cards from his playing career more than this card, I think the market would say the fifth most desirable Alex English cards is 1996 Collector’s Edge Time Warp (Gold) #TW3 0642/1000. This card comes 5 years after English retired, but features both Kobe Bryant and Alex English (hence why a broad range of collectors like it). The Gold parallel of the card is numbered out of 1000, making it even more scarce.
There are 17 of the Gold parallel graded by PSA with 4 graded as 10s. Auction prices range based on condition and if the card is the base set version or the numbered parallel version. In October 2021 a PSA 8 Gold parallel sold for $50 and in March 2021 a Gold parallel PSA 10 sold for $455. A PSA 10 of the base version sold for much less, $198.45.
Some honorable mentions
While not from his playing career, several of his modern, high-end brands are quite affordable. Numbered, on-card autographed cards from brands like National Treasures, Encased, Impeccable, and Noir are often sold for less than $30. For example, in late 2021, I purchased a PSA 10 2017 National Treasures ‘Treasure of the Hall’ Autograph card numbered our of 99 for only $32 at auction (picture below).
Overall, Hall of Famer Alex English cards are quite undervalued. Some of this is likely due to the high supply of cards being printed during his playing career (although not as bad as the over-printing during the 1990s) and being overshadowed by other popular stars of his time (Jordan, Kareem, Drexler, Erving, Ewing, Magic, etc.). Nevertheless, English has cards from many different vintage brands, including the iconic 86 Fleer and the ultra rare 86 Merchate. And perhaps more importantly for collectors focused on English’s playing career, English has a reasonable of number of unique cards produced during his playing career; not so few that its a short chase, not so many that its overwhelming.
