There are those who believe the rise of the Utah Jazz began with John Stockton and Karl Malone. Not so.
"Mark Eaton was the anchor that gave us credibility from the start," Jazz assistant coach Scott Layden said. As then-head coach Frank Layden said, "You can't teach height."
A seldom-used player drafted out of UCLA, the 7-foot-4 Eaton played his entire career with Utah (1982-94), finishing with 875 games, 5,216 points, 6,939 rebounds and 3,064 blocked shots.
He remains the NBA's all-time leader with a career average of 3.50 blocks a game. The Jazz retired his number, 53. "He did everything we asked of him," Frank Layden said. "With him, you saw where hard work paid off."
As for maybe being overshadowed by time and not having played during the years Utah went to the NBA Finals, Eaton said: "I was valued by the people who mattered. When I look back at what the team accomplished, I'm really proud of that."
Martin Renzhofer
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