4 legendary Utah Jazz players with a case to be in the Hall of Fame
By Chad Porto
Mark Eaton
As far as exclusive NBA accomplishments go, Mark Eaton has the best resume to go into the Hall of Fame of these four ex-Utah Jazz players. Eaton’s one of the best defensive players in the history of the NBA and has the NBA achievements to prove that.
His biggest claim to (Hall of) fame is his two Defensive Player of the Year awards in 1985 and 1989. Eaton’s stretch of dominance was long for a player of his era, and it helped him earn five All-Defensive team selections, three first-team selections (1985, 1986, 1989), and two second-team selections (1987 and 1988).
He also led the league in blocks for four seasons (1984, 1985, 1987, and 1988).
So while he never broke 10 points per game, and only twice broke 10 rebounds per game, Eaton did enough defensively to influence not only the era but the league going forward, because now everyone is looking for a center like Eaton.
His impact on the game and on how NBA teams determine good defensive big-men could be traced all the way back to Eaton. He was the progenitor to a lot of modern expectations for defensive-minded players.
He wasn’t alone, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a defensive big as good as Eaton was in the 80s.