Mark Eaton

Quick Facts

Full Name	Mark Eaton
Occupation	Basketball Player
Date Of Birth	Jan 24, 1957(1957-01-24)
Age	67
Date Of Death	May 28, 2021, Park City, UT
Birthplace	Westminster
Country	United States
Birth City	Westminster
Horoscope	Aquarius

Mark Eaton Biography

Mark Eaton is one of the most popular and richest Basketball Player who was born on January 24, 1957 in Westminster, Westminster, United States. Mark E. Eaton (born January 24, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player who was a member of the National Basketball Association’s Utah Jazz from 1982 to 1993, with one NBA All-Star selection in 1989, and two NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards in 1985 and 1989. Though limited offensively, Eaton’s 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) height helped him become one of the best defensive centers in NBA history. Eaton holds the NBA record for most blocks in a season (456) and career average blocked shots per game (3.50).

Eaton transferred to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1980, but did not see much action in his two seasons with the Bruins. In his senior season, he played just 42 total minutes, averaging 1.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 11 games. Eaton was initially disappointed with his inability to play effectively as a Division I collegiate player. Wilt Chamberlain, who frequently attended UCLA practices after his retirement from the NBA, saw Eaton’s frustration and, on one occasion, personally took him under a basket to explain that Eaton needed 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 has cited Chamberlain’s advice as the turning point in his basketball career.

Eaton continued to improve in his second season with the Jazz. In 82 games, 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). Eaton’s strong defense helped the Jazz make their first-ever playoff appearance. Incidentally, one shot he failed to block during the 1983–84 season was the skyhook which gave Kareem Abdul-Jabbar his 31,421st point and the NBA’s all-time scoring record.

Eaton’s third season (1984–85) was spectacular. 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 who had blocked 393 shots for the Los Angeles Lakers. Eaton averaged 5.56 blocks per game, more than double the league’s second ranked blocker (Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon with 2.68 blocks per game). In addition, Eaton averaged 11.3 rebounds per game, ranking fifth in the league in that category. For his efforts, he was named to the NBA All- Defensive First Team and was honored as the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year. On April 26, 1985, Eaton scored 8 points but recorded a playoff career- high 10 blocks in a 96-94 loss to the Rockets. He became the first player to record 10 blocks in a playoff game. Hakeem Olajuwon and Andrew Bynum are the only players since then to have blocked 10 shots in a playoff game.

After his freshman year at Cypress, he was drafted by the Phoenix Suns in the 1979 NBA draft with the 107th pick in the 5th round. He was eligible to be drafted because he was already four years out of high school in 1979. However, he opted to return to college basketball.

Mark Eaton Net Worth

Mark Eaton is one of the richest Basketball Player from United States. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Mark Eaton 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

His entire NBA career was spent with the Utah 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. Abdul-Jabbar played 1,560 games to Eaton’s 875 (however, statistics for blocked shots were not kept until the 1973–74 season, missing the first four seasons of Abdul- Jabbar’s career). Eaton is currently the NBA’s all-time leader in blocks per game, with a career average of 3.50.

Eaton was born in Inglewood, California and grew up in Southern California. Despite his height, as a youth he was more interested in playing water polo than basketball. After graduating from Westminster High School, Eaton attended the Arizona Automotive Institute in Phoenix and graduated as a service technician. He worked as an auto mechanic for about three years, and was eventually discovered by Tom Lubin while repairing cars in Anaheim in April

1977. Lubin, a chemistry professor, was an assistant basketball coach at Cypress College, and his encouragement led Eaton to enroll at the community college and try out for the basketball team. Eaton developed into a solid junior college player. He averaged 14.3 points per game in two seasons at Cypress, and led the school to the California State Title as a sophomore.

Because of his lack of playing time at UCLA, few NBA teams had interest in Eaton after he finished his college career. However, the Utah Jazz saw him as a potentially dominant defender and selected him with the 72nd pick in the fourth round of the 1982 NBA draft. Utah coach Frank Layden would later explain his choice by quoting Red Auerbach’s old axiom, “you can’t teach height”. In his rookie season, Eaton made an immediate impact. He replaced Danny Schayes as Utah’s starting center early in the year, and finished the season with 275 blocked shots (a franchise record) in 81 games. His 3.40 blocks per game ranked third in the NBA, behind Atlanta’s Wayne “Tree” Rollins and San Diego’s Bill Walton.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

Mark Eaton height 7 ft 4 in Mark weight 275  lbs & body measurements will update soon.

Who is Mark Eaton Dating?

According to our records, Mark Eaton married to Teri Eaton. As of December 1, 2023, Mark Eaton’s is not dating anyone.

Relationships Record : We have no records of past relationships for Mark Eaton. You may help us to build the dating records for Mark Eaton!

In the 2013 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Jazz player Jeremy Evans jumped over a seated Eaton to dunk the ball.

Facts & Trivia

Mark Ranked on the list of most popular Basketball Player. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in United States. Mark Eaton celebrates birthday on January 24 of every year.

How did Mark Eaton pass away?

bicycle accident

Is Mark Eaton still alive?

May 28, 2021

Who is Mark Eaton wife?

Teri Eaton

Where is Mark Eaton now?

He lives in Park City, Utah with his wife, children, horses, dogs, and barn cats.

What happened to Mark Eaton last night?

The team announced his death Saturday. Eaton left his home for a bike ride Friday night in Summit County, Utah, and shortly thereafter someone called 911 to report after seeing him lying on a roadway and unconscious. Eaton was taken to a hospital where he later died.