The J-Notes
Fansided

Ranking every season in Utah Jazz franchise history

By James Piercey

Utah Jazz. (JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images)
Utah Jazz. (JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Utah Jazz
Mark Eaton, Utah Jazz (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) /

1982-83 Utah Jazz record: 30-52, missed playoffs

The 1982-83 season was almost business-as-usual for the Utah Jazz: the operative word being almost. 

Adrian Dantley scored 30.7 a night, Darrell Griffith scored 22.2, and the Jazz were bad anyway. However, something was looming in Salt Lake City. Something huge.

Something like the 7’4, 275 pound behemoth known as Mark Eaton. The newly drafted big man (talk about an understatement) averaged 4.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game over the course of his rookie campaign, to go with 3.4 blocks. Yes, 3.4 blocks; in 18.9 minutes per game.

We’ll save you the trouble of crunching the numbers: that’s 6.5 blocks per 36 minutes.

Little else went right for the Utah Jazz during the 1982-83 season, but Eaton would go onto man the middle for the franchise for about a decade afterwards. For an otherwise unsuccessful season, that qualifies as a victory.

Eaton tragically passed away in a bicycle accident on May 28, 2021. He was 64. As basketball fans, we cannot afford to forget one of the most singular players in NBA history. Nobody blocked shots like prime Mark Eaton, and he was a staple in the Utah community long after his playing career. Fans of the Utah Jazz should preserve his legacy on and off the court.