South Carolina basketball: ranking the Gamecocks’ top NBA careers

South Carolina basketball players in the NBA

No. 2 – Brian Winters

Winters played three seasons with the Gamecocks, capping his career with a 20-point-per-game average in his final year with the program. That 1974-75 season, Winters led the team in scoring, outmatching two teammates that also fall on this list in Mike Dunleavy and Alex English.

After being drafted in the 1975 draft, Winters went on to a nine year career in the NBA. Eight of those years were spent in Milwaukee, while his rookie season was spent with the Lakers. Winters averaged 16.2 points a contest over his career, the second highest total from a former Gamecocks in the NBA.

After an all-rookie campaign, the former first-round selection was part of the trade that sent Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Los Angeles. Winters would help lead the Bucks to the playoffs six times, while earning All-Star honors on two occasions. His No. 32 jersey was retired in Milwaukee following his retirement.

No. 1 – Alex English

English is the Gamecocks’ best pro of all time. After posting a 17.8-point-per-game average during his collegiate career, English was picked in the second round of the 1976 NBA Draft. Originally selected by the Milwaukee Bucks, the forward was dealt to Indiana after two seasons. There, he averaged more than 16 points a game over two years.

Midway through the 1979-80 season, English was sent to Denver, where he’d experience the best years of his career. In 11 seasons with the Nuggets, he averaged nearly 26 points a game, leading the league in scoring during the ’82-’83 campaign.

English was an eight-time all-star, three-time All-Pro, and eventual Hall of Fame selection. His No. 2 jersey was retired in Denver, as was his No. 22 jersey that still hangs in the rafters of Colonial Life Arena.