#1: Mark Eaton – 2x DPOY, 5x All-Defensive, 4x block leader
Mark Eaton is the single greatest shot blocker of all time. Manute Bol gets a lot of credit, but in 1985 Eaton set an NBA record with 456 blocks, or 5.6 a game, which is also a record. Rudy Gobert has averaged 2.2 blocks a game throughout his entire career. Eaton was below that only once, in his final season.
Eaton averaged 3.5 blocks during his 11-year career, all in Utah. Only six times this century has a player gotten a higher number in a single season. If we want to keep talking about absurd records, he holds four of the best 20 individual shot blocking seasons ever, including the number one spot. In his 11 seasons, he averaged a 100 defensive rating. Gobert was the defense during his prime, Eaton ran it in his. He embodied it.
Eaton’s individual 5.6 blocks a game beats out or ties 28 teams last season. Only the Grizzlies and Celtics swatted more shots than one man did. Eaton averaged 5.6 (I keep writing it because it is that crazy), and the Jazz of 2022 averaged 4.9.
In a single game, Eaton got 13 or more blocks three times. Only Manute Bol and Elmore Smith (who played before the ABA-NBA merger) have numbers equal to that.
You can make a case that Gobert is the best defender today. He is certainly the best shot blocker. But Eaton is the best shot blocker ever. I will not hear anything else. So the number one spot should obviously go to him, on any list.