Mark Eaton, a 7’4 center and a 2-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year with the Utah Jazz, has died, the team reported Saturday. He was 64. Utah said police found Eaton lying in the middle of the road at 8:30 PM Friday after a bicycle crash in Summit County, Utah. Eaton was taken to a local hospital, where he later passed. There was no reason to believe a vehicle was involved in the accident.
The NBA tweeted, “The NBA mourns the passing of Mark Eaton, a Utah Jazz legend and former president of the Retired Players Association. Mark was an All-Star, two-time Defensive Player of the Year and beloved member of our league. We send our heartfelt condolences to his family and many friends.” They also posted a picture of Eaton that read, “Mark Eaton 1957-2021.”
The center, who spent his entire career in Utah, led the NBA in blocks per game four times. His 5.6 blocks per ballgame in 1984-85 remains the highest average since the league officially started keeping track of that statistic. Believe it or not, his career was almost an accident! He was working as an auto mechanic in 1977 when a community college basketball coach persuaded him to enroll. From there, he went to UCLA, and the rest is history. His 11 seasons with the Jazz are third most in team history, trailing fellow Utah legends Karl Malone and John Stockton. His durability was amazing. He once played in 338 consecutive games!
Eaton’s #53 was one of the first numbers retired by the Jazz. He won the Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) in 1984-85 and 88-89, was a five-time All-Defensive team selection–with three first-team picks and two second-team nods– and a 1989 All-Star. Recently, he served as a mentor to current Jazz center Rudy Gobert, who is the only other Jazz member to win DPOY. Gobert tweeted, “To my great mentor and friend @markeaton7ft4, one of kind and an amazing human being, I’m grateful for your presence in my life over the years. Gonna miss our conversations. But I know you’ll be watching.”
Jazz coach Quin Snyder said Saturday night that the team’s thoughts and prayers go out to Eaton’s wife. “Mark was someone that was a friend, and I think a friend who a lot of us, ?(what does this mean???)in his relationship with Rudy Gobert I think is emblematic of who he was and his ability to listen,” Snyder said. “And then to offer counsel and support was something that was really unique, and obviously we’ll miss him.”
Eaton’s death came days after he was in Chicago to be part of the celebration for his friend, MLB umpire Joe West. The unpopular umpire broke the MLB record by officiating his 5,376th regular-season game.
Eaton was taken by the Phoenix Suns with the 107th pick in the 1979 draft, then picked again at No.72 by the Jazz in 1982, and stayed there his whole career. His final game was in 1993; back issues ended his career, and he retired in September of 1994.
The Lakers won last year’s NBA title after the passing of Kobe Bryant; could the Jazz do it this year in honor of Eaton? Like always, we’ll see. It’d be an amazing story.
