Mark Edward Eaton (January 24, 1957 – May 28, 2021) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who spent his entire career (1982–1993) with the Utah Jazz of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). Named an NBA All-Star in 1989, he was twice voted the

NBA Defensive Player of the Year The NBA's Defensive Player of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the best defensive player of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of 124 sportswrite ...

(1985, 1989) and was a five-time member of the

NBA All-Defensive Team The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. The All-Defensive Team is generally composed of ten players in two ...

. The Eaton became one of the best defensive

centers Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

in NBA history. He led the league in blocks four times and holds the NBA single-season records for blocks (456) and blocked shots per game average (5.6), as well as career blocked shots per game (3.5). His 53 was

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

by the Jazz. Eaton was a

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

on his high school basketball team before graduating and working as an auto mechanic. He was discovered by an assistant coach at

Cypress College Cypress College is a public community college in Cypress, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System and belongs to the North Orange County Community College District. It offers a variety of general education (55 associat ...

, who persuaded Eaton to enroll at the

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...

and play basketball. Eaton transferred to play

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

, but he was used sparingly. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 1982 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz as a long-term project. Eaton helped transform the Jazz from a last-place team into a perennial playoff team. When he retired from playing in 1994, he ranked second in the NBA in career blocks behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Early life

Mark Edward Eaton was born on January 24, 1957, in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

, and grew up in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

. His father, Bud, was a

diesel mechanic An auto mechanic (automotive technician in most of North America, light vehicle technician in British English, and motor mechanic in Australian English) is a mechanic who services and repairs automobiles, sometimes specializing in one or more ...

instructor and stood tall, while Eaton's mother, Delores, was . Despite his height, Eaton was more interested in playing

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

than basketball. As a senior at Westminster High School in

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

, he stood and weighed but was uncoordinated, not very muscular, and relegated to a

backup In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "back up", w ...

role on the basketball team. "The coaches didn't know how to teach me to play big, and I didn't know how to play big," said Eaton.

College career

After graduating from high school in 1975, Eaton attended the Arizona Automotive Institute in

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia * Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre *Glendale, Queensland, ...

and graduated as an automotive service technician. He returned to Orange County and worked as an auto mechanic, making $20,000 a year, when he was eventually discovered by Tom Lubin while repairing cars in

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

in April 1977. Lubin, a chemistry professor, was an assistant basketball coach at

. He had previously discovered

Swen Nater Swen Erick Nater (born January 14, 1950) is a Dutch former professional basketball player. He played primarily in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA), and is the only player to have led both the NBA ...

, who did not play in high school but went on to a long, pro career. Lubin's uncle, Frank, played on the 1936 U.S. Olympic basketball team. Lubin's encouragement led Eaton to enroll at the

in 1978 and try out for its basketball team. After his freshman year at Cypress, Eaton was selected by the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

in the fifth round of the 1979 NBA draft with the 107th pick. He was eligible to be drafted because he was already four years removed from high school. However, he opted to return to college basketball. Eaton developed into a solid

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

player under head coach Don Johnson. He averaged 14.3 points per game in two seasons at Cypress and led the school to the California junior college title as a sophomore in 1980. Eaton transferred to the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(UCLA) in 1980, but did not see much action in his two seasons with the Bruins. He played sparingly under head coach Larry Brown in 1980–81. The tallest players in the

starting lineup In sports, a starting lineup is an official list of the set of players who will participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as ''starters'', whereas the others are ''substitutes'' o ...

were

Darren Daye Darren Keefe Daye (born November 30, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, at a height of , and a weight of , he played as a shooting guard and small forward The small forward (SF), also known as ...

and Cliff Pruitt at , but Eaton was too slow for the team's fast-paced offense. In Eaton's senior year in 1981–82, new coach Larry Farmer vowed to give him a shot to start, but heralded freshman Stuart Gray got the nod instead. Eaton played just 41 total minutes that season, averaging 1.3 points and 2.0

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

in 11 games. Farmer did not play him at all towards the end of the season and did not allow him to travel with the team on their last road trip to

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and Oregon State. "If I ever felt cheated, that was the time I felt the worst," recalled Eaton in 1985. "I had worked so hard and it wasn't like I was causing any problems." Eaton was initially disappointed with his inability to play effectively in college. At a summer pickup game, Wilt Chamberlain saw his frustration, and encouraged Eaton to focus on protecting the basket, getting rebounds, and passing the ball to quicker guards, rather than trying to compete with smaller, quicker players in scoring. Eaton cited Chamberlain's advice as the turning point in his basketball career.

Professional career

Because of his lack of playing time at UCLA, few

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

teams had an interest in Eaton after he finished his college career. He paid for two tryout camps, but only received an offer of $15,000 to play in Israel and another for $25,000 in

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

. However, the Utah Jazz, who finished in last place the prior season, saw him as a potentially dominant defender and selected him as a long-term project in the fourth round of the 1982 NBA draft with the 72nd overall pick. Utah coach

Frank Layden Francis Layden (born January 5, 1932) is an American former basketball coach and executive of the National Basketball Association's Utah Jazz as well as former head coach of the Women's National Basketball Association's Utah Starzz. Coaching car ...

quipped, "Like

ormer University of Utah coach Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any of a group of small to very large marine gastropod molluscs in the family Haliotidae. Other common names are ear shells, sea ears, and, rarely, muttonfish or m ...

Jack Gardner said, 'You can't teach height.'" Also the team's general manager, Layden discouraged Eaton from playing in Europe and signed him to a five-year contract, with the first season guaranteed at $45,000, for a total $570,000. Eaton had worn No. 35 at UCLA, but the number was already taken on the Jazz by

Darrell Griffith Darrell Steven Griffith (born June 16, 1958), also known by his nickname Dr. Dunkenstein, is an American former basketball player who spent his entire professional career with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association from 1980 to 1991 ...

, prompting Eaton to choose the reversed No. 53. Entering the NBA, Eaton's goal was to become a journeyman backup. He made an immediate impact as a rookie, starting 32 games and replacing

Danny Schayes Daniel Leslie Schayes (born May 10, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player who played for Syracuse University and played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), from 1981 until 1999. At 6' 11" and 235 pounds, h ...

after the cash-strapped Jazz traded the center mid-season. Eaton finished the season with a then-franchise record 275

blocked shot In basketball, a block or blocked shot occurs when a defensive player legally deflects a field goal attempt from an offensive player to prevent a score. The defender is not allowed to make contact with the offensive player's hand (unless the de ...

s while averaging only 19 minutes per game. His 3.4 blocks per game ranked third in the NBA, behind

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Tree Rollins Wayne Monte "Tree" Rollins (born June 16, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player who played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, ...

and

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

's Bill Walton. The Jazz placed Eaton on a six-day-a-week program in the offseason. Layden said they treated him "like a high school kid as far as basketball skills are concerned". Eaton continued to improve in his second season. In 82 games in 1983–84, he grabbed a team-leading 595 rebounds and blocked 351 shots (breaking his own franchise record). His 4.28 blocks per game led the NBA, well ahead of Rollins (who finished second with 3.60 blocks per game). During the season, he failed in his attempt to block the hook shot which gave Kareem Abdul-Jabbar his 31,421st point to break the NBA career scoring record held by Chamberlain. Eaton's strong defense helped the Jazz improve from 30–52 in his rookie season to 45–37, winning their first Midwest Division title and making their first playoff appearance. In Eaton's third season in 1984–85, he blocked 456 shots, shattering the NBA record for most blocked shots in a single season set during the 1973–74 season by

Elmore Smith Elmore Smith (born May 9, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player born in Macon, Georgia. A 7'0" center from Kentucky State University, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1971 to 1979. He was a member ...

, who had blocked 393 shots for the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

. Eaton averaged 5.56 blocks per game, an NBA single-season record that was more than double the league's second-ranked shot-blocker that season (

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Hakeem Olajuwon Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon (; ; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian Americans, Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Ass ...

with 2.68 blocks per game). In addition, Eaton averaged 11.3 rebounds per game, ranking fifth in the league in that category. "We had no idea that he would develop the way he has," said Layden during the season. Eaton was not on the All-Star ballot that year after being one of the final cuts. For his efforts, he was named to the

NBA All-Defensive First Team The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. The All-Defensive Team is generally composed of ten players in two ...

and was honored as the

. On April 26, 1985, Eaton had ten blocks in a 96–94 loss to the Rockets, becoming the first NBA player to record ten blocks in a playoff game (later tied by Olajuwon and Andrew Bynum). Although he was not a significant offensive contributor, the Jazz relied heavily on Eaton for his shot-blocking, rebounding, and occasional "tippy toe" dunks. With the emergence of superstars Karl Malone and John Stockton, the Jazz became one of the best teams in the NBA. Eaton's stifling defense was a major factor in Utah's success. He continued to rank among NBA leaders in blocked shots, leading the league in 1986–87 and 1987–88. On November 17, 1987, Eaton set a career high with 25 rebounds in a 120–110 win over the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

. In 1988–89, he averaged 10.3 rebounds per game (seventh in the NBA) and 3.84 blocks per game (second behind Golden State's Manute Bol). He was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in his career and received his third selection to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. In addition, he was chosen to play in the

1989 NBA All-Star Game The 39th National Basketball Association All-Star Game was held at Houston on February 12, 1989. Karl Malone was named the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP). The east was composed of Mark Jackson, Kevin McHale, Michael Jordan, Patric ...

, joining teammates Malone and Stockton on the Western Conference team. It was the first time that the Jazz had three players in the All-Star Game. In the 1989 playoffs, the second-seeded Jazz were upset in the first round 3–0 by the seventh-seeded

Warriors A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have be ...

. Golden State coach

Don Nelson Donald Arvid Nelson (born May 15, 1940) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. Nelson is second all-time in regular season wins of any coach in NBA history, with 1,335 (he held the record for most wins for almost 12 ...

spread out his offense and avoided going inside against Eaton, and they played most of the series with a

small lineup In basketball, small ball is a style of play that sacrifices height, physical strength and low post offense/defense in favor of a lineup of smaller players for speed, agility and increased scoring (often from the three-point line). It is closely t ...

in which their tallest players on the court were Larry Smith or Ben McDonald or even

Rod Higgins Roderick Dwayne Higgins (born January 31, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who formerly served as president of basketball operations for the National Basketball Association's Charlotte Hornets. He is also the father of fo ...

. Opponents were increasingly playing with smaller lineups, forcing Eaton to guard a quicker player who would draw him out to the perimeter and seek to drive past him. Utah coach Jerry Sloan countered by decreasing Eaton's playing time and employing his own small lineup with backup center Mike Brown. In 1991–92, there was speculation that the more offensive-minded Brown would start the season at center, but Sloan stuck with Eaton. However, Eaton's playing time dropped to 25 minutes per game from 32 minutes in 1990–91. After missing just nine games in his first 10 seasons, Eaton was hindered by knee and back injuries late in his career. His rebounding and shot-blocking averages declined. During the 1992–93 season, knee surgery and back problems limited him to 64 games, averaging 17.3 minutes per game, both career lows. A degenerative back ailment forced him to drop out of training camp and miss the 1993–94 season; his contract expired at the end of the season. After therapy failed to correct the problem, he announced his retirement from basketball in September 1994.

Legacy

Eaton spent his entire 11-year NBA career with the Utah Jazz, helping transform the franchise from perennial 50-game losers to perennial 50-game winners. After going 30–52 in his first year, they made the playoffs in each of his 10 other seasons, beginning a run of 20 straight postseason appearances for the Jazz. In 875 games, he scored 5,216 points, grabbed 6,939 rebounds, and blocked 3,064 shots. At the time of his retirement, he ranked second all-time in league history in total blocked shots, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's career total of 3,189. Blocks were not recorded as an official statistic until Abdul-Jabbar's fifth NBA season in 1973–74. Eaton is the NBA's all-time leader in blocks per game, with a career average of 3.50. In a six-season span from his second season through his seventh (1983–1989), he led the league in blocks four times and was the runner-up twice while averaging 4.3 blocks per games over 488 contests. He never averaged more than 10 points per game in a season, which frustrated Utah fans after his scoring tapered off following a career high of 9.7 in 1984–85. To honor his contributions to the team, the Utah Jazz

Eaton's No. 53 in 1996. In 2010, he was inducted into the

Utah Sports Hall of Fame The Utah Sports Hall of Fame is an athletics hall of fame in the U.S. state of Utah. The Utah Sports Hall of Fame Foundation, organized in 1967 as The Old Time Athletes Association, was founded "to celebrate and preserve Utah's storied sports heri ...

along with former Jazz player Tom Chambers. In 2014, Eaton had his jersey retired at Westminster High School and also at Cypress College, along with

and head coach Don Johnson.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Source: , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, 81 , , 32 , , 18.9 , , .414 , , .000 , , .656 , , 5.7 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , 3.4 , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 78 , , 26.1 , , .466 , , .000 , , .593 , , 7.3 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 4.3* , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 34.3 , , .449 , , , , .712 , , 11.3 , , 1.5 , , .4 , , style="background:#e0cef2;", 5.6 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 80 , , 31.9 , , .470 , , , , .604 , , 8.4 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , 4.6 , , 8.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 79 , , 79 , , 31.7 , , .400 , , , , .657 , , 8.8 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 4.1* , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 33.3 , , .418 , , , , .623 , , 8.7 , , .7 , , .5 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 3.7* , , 7.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 35.5 , , .462 , , , , .660 , , 10.3 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 3.8 , , 6.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 27.8 , , .527 , , , , .669 , , 7.3 , , .5 , , .4 , , 2.5 , , 4.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 80 , , 32.3 , , .579 , , , , .634 , , 8.3 , , .6 , , .5 , , 2.4 , , 5.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 25.0 , , .446 , , , , .598 , , 6.1 , , .5 , , .4 , , 2.5 , , 3.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 64 , , 57 , , 17.3 , , .546 , , , , .700 , , 4.1 , , .3 , , .3 , , 1.2 , , 2.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 875 , , 815 , , 28.8 , , .458 , , .000 , , .649 , , 7.9 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , style="background:#e0cef2;", 3.5 , , 6.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 1 , , 0 , , 9.0 , , , , , , , , 5.0 , , , , , , 2.0 , , —

Playoffs

Source: , - , style="text-align:left;",

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , , , 23.1 , , .512 , , , , .471 , , 6.9 , , .8 , , .5 , , 3.1 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 31.6 , , .353 , , , , .714 , , 9.0 , , 1.0 , , .8 , , 5.8 , , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 4 , , 39.3 , , .491 , , , , .667 , , 9.0 , , 2.5 , , .3 , , 4.5 , , 14.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 38.6 , , .463 , , , , .640 , , 11.0 , , .6 , , .2 , , 4.2 , , 10.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , 11 , , 41.9 , , .477 , , , , .639 , , 9.4 , , 1.2 , , 1.1 , , 3.1 , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 3 , , 33.0 , , .471 , , , , .818 , , 11.0 , , .3 , , .3 , , .7 , , 8.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 25.6 , , .529 , , , , .200 , , 6.0 , , .0 , , .6 , , 2.8 , , 3.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 9 , , 28.3 , , .516 , , , , .583 , , 6.2 , , .6 , , .1 , , 1.4 , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 16 , , 16 , , 29.6 , , .565 , , , , .778 , , 5.6 , , .3 , , .4 , , 2.3 , , 4.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 23.4 , , .526 , , , , .500 , , 6.6 , , .4 , , .0 , , 1.8 , , 4.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 74 , , 63 , , 31.0 , , .489 , , , , .639 , , 7.5 , , .7 , , .5 , , 2.8 , , 6.1

College

Source: , - , style="text-align:left;", 1980–81 , style="text-align:left;",

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, 19 , , 0 , , 8.2 , , .459 , , – , , .294 , , 2.6 , , .2 , , .2 , , 1.1 , , 2.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1981–82 , style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , 0 , , 3.7 , , .417 , , – , , .800 , , 2.0 , , .1 , , .1 , , .5 , , 1.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 30 , , 0 , , 6.5 , , .449 , , – , , .409 , , 2.4 , , .1 , , .1 , , .9 , , 1.8

Post-playing career

After his retirement, Eaton worked for KJZZ-TV in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, providing color commentary and analysis for television broadcasts of Utah Jazz and

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

basketball games. He also hosted a radio talk show before Jazz games. Eaton was a partner in Salt Lake City-area restaurants Tuscany and Franck's. He was a president/board member of the

National Basketball Retired Players Association The National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA) is a non-profit association composed of former professional basketball players of the NBA, ABA, Harlem Globetrotters, and WNBA. It was founded in 1992 by NBA Hall of Famers Dave DeBus ...

(NBRPA) from 1997 to 2007. He was also a founder and chairman of the Mark Eaton Standing Tall for Youth organization, which provided sports and outdoor activities for at-risk children in

. He was also a motivational speaker, and published the book ''The Four Commitments of a Winning Team''. In the 2013 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Jazz player

Jeremy Evans Jeremy Deshawn Evans (born October 24, 1987) is an American professional basketball player for Paris Basketball of the LNB Pro A. He played college basketball for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers before being drafted by the Utah Jazz in 2010. Duri ...

jumped over a seated Eaton to dunk the ball. In later years, Eaton became a mentor to Jazz center

Rudy Gobert Rudy Gobert-Bourgarel ( ; born June 26, 1992) is a French professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also represents the French national team in their international competitions. ...

, who joined him as the only other player in the franchise's history to be named defensive player of the year.

Personal life

Eaton married his first wife, Marci, in 1980. A registered nurse who trained in Los Angeles, she worked as a nurse in Santa Monica to support him while he was attending college. The Eatons had two sons, Nicolas and Douglas. While living in Utah in Jeremy Ranch in the 1980s, Eaton ordered a

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...

suitable for his body frame, and he biked a number of the region's first mountain bike trails. Around 2016, he began riding a custom French-built

road bike The term road bicycle is used to describe bicycles built for traveling at speed on paved roads. Some sources use the term to mean racing bicycle. Other sources specifically exclude racing bicycles from the definition, using the term to mean a ...

for tall cyclists, which came outfitted with wheels. On May 28, 2021, Eaton biked with a neighbor to lunch. A few hours after returning home, Eaton told his wife, Teri, that he was going for a short ride in the neighborhood. He died after a bicycle accident about a block from his home in

Park City, Utah Park City is a city in Utah, United States. The vast majority is in Summit County, and it extends into Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City' ...

. He was found unresponsive by a passerby and was pronounced dead at the hospital. He was 64 years old. The sheriff said that there were no witnesses to the incident nor any indication that a vehicle was involved.

Publications

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eaton, Mark 1957 births 2021 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Inglewood, California Basketball players from Salt Lake City Centers (basketball) Cycling road incident deaths Cypress Chargers men's basketball players NBA All-Stars NBA players with retired numbers Sportspeople from Westminster, California Phoenix Suns draft picks Road incident deaths in Utah Basketball players from Orange County, California UCLA Bruins men's basketball players Utah Jazz draft picks Utah Jazz players

Early life

College career

Professional career

Legacy

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

College

Post-playing career

Personal life

Publications

See also

References

External links