An American professional retired basketball player was named for Mark Eaton. 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. Utah Jazz selected him with the 72nd pick in the fourth round of the 1982 NBA draft. He was named an NBA All-Star in 1989 and was twice voted the NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1985, 1989). He is currently the NBA’s all-time leader in blocks per game, with a career average of 3.50. In the year 2010, he was inducted into The Utah Sports Hall of Fame the same year as fellow NBA Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns, and Utah Jazz star player Tom Chambers. In 2014, he had his high school jersey retired at Westminster High School and at Cypress College along with Swen Nater and head coach Don Johnson.
Cause Of Death
Mark Eaton dies at 64 on 28th May 2021. His cause of death was due to a bicycle accident in Park City, Utah, the USA. He was found unresponsive by a passerby and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Famous For
- Being a professional retired basketball player.
- For his entire NBA career with the Utah Jazz.
Source: @nbcnewyork
What was the Nationality of Mark Eaton?
Born on January 24, 1957, Mark Eaton’s born place was Inglewood, California, the United States of America. But he spent his childhood in Southern California. His nationality was American and his ethnic background was American White. Aquarius was his Zodiac sign and by religion, he was Christian. Mark lastly celebrated his 64th birthday. Moving towards his family, there are no reviews on his family either. There no information regarding his parents. He has not stated anything about his parent’s details and siblings.
During his early years, Mark was more interested in playing water polo than basketball. He attended Westminster High School and graduated in 1975. Then, he attended the Arizona Automotive Institute in Phoenix and graduated as a service technician. After Tom Lubin reached him, Lubin led Eaton to enroll at the community college in 1978 and try out for the basketball team. He then developed into a solid junior college player and 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 the year 1980. During 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 later transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1980.
How was the Career and Life Story of Mark Eaton?
- Mark began his professional career when he was selected with the 72nd pick in the fourth round of the 1982 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz and signed him to a five-year contract, with the first season guaranteed, for a reported $500,000.
- During his rookie season, he started 32 games and finished the season with a then-franchise record 275 blocked shots while averaging only 19 minutes per game.
- During his second season, he grabbed a team-leading 595 rebounds and blocked 351 shots in 82 games.
- In his third season i.e 1984-1985 season, he blocked 456 shots, shattering the NBA record for most blocked shots in a single season. He averaged 5.56 blocks per game.
- Thus, he was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team and was honored as the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year.
- He made ten blocks in a 96-94 loss to the Rockets on 26th April 1985 becoming the first NBA player to record ten blocks in a playoff game (later tied by Olajuwon and Andrew Bynum).
- In the 1988-1989 season, Mark averaged 10.3 rebounds per game (seventh in the NBA) and 3.84 blocks per game (second behind Golden State’s Manute Bol).
- Later, he was chosen to play in the 1989 NBA All-Star Game.
- During his game with Jazz, he was facing knee and back injuries. During the 1992-1993 season, knee surgery and back problems limited him to 64 games, where he averaged 17.3 minutes per game, both career lows.
- Later, he announced his retirement from basketball in September 1994 after therapy failed to correct the problem. 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.
- After Mark’s retirement from basketball, he worked for KJZZ-TV in Salt Lake City, providing color commentary and analysis for television broadcasts of Utah Jazz and University of Utah basketball games.
- What’s more, he was also a partner in a Salt Lake City-area restaurant named Tuscany.
- Not only this but he was also a president/board member of the National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA) from 1997 to 2007.
- He founded and served as chairman of the Mark Eaton Standing Tall for Youth organization and he was also a motivational speaker.
Awards and Achievements
- NBA All-Star (1989)
- 2× NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1985, 1989)
- 3× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1985, 1986, 1989)
- 2× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1987, 1988)
- 4× NBA blocks leader (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988)
- No. 53 retired by Utah Jazz
Career NBA statistics
- Points: 5,216 (6.0 ppg)
- Rebounds: 6,939 (7.9 rpg)
- Blocks: 3,064 (3.5 bpg)
Who was Mark Eaton’s married Wife?
Mark Eaton was a married man to his beautiful wife, Teri Eaton. Prior to his death, he was living in Park City, Utah with his wife, children, horses, dogs, and barn cats. There is no information regarding Mark’s children as well as the wedding details. His sexual orientation was straight and he was not gay.
Source: @facebook
What was the Net Worth of Mark Eaton?
Retired basketball player, Mark Eaton’s net worth was estimated to have $3 Million as of 2021. He made a lot of fortune from his basketball career. He had made huge money from his career work. His major source of wealth was his basketball career. Whereas his salary details have not been mentioned. He was living a cool lifestyle back to his death. Back then, working as an auto mechanic, he made $20,000 a year.
How tall was Mark Eaton?
Mark Eaton had a tall towering height of 7 ft 4 in or 2.24 m with a balanced weight of 275 lbs or 125 Kg. His body build was athletic. His other body measurements/size is still to get disclosed yet.
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