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Basketball-Reference: Rookies with 250+ blocks (since 1973-74): — Victor Wembanyama (2023-24) — Alonzo Mourning (1992-93) — Shaquille O'Neal (1992-93) — David Robinson (1989-90) — Manute Bol (1985-86) — Mark Eaton (1982-83) pic.twitter.com/0kMUWaqFuN
He’s gotten more than a couple, in fact. In the Thunder’s second game, against Cleveland, Holmgren tallied seven blocks, becoming just the fourth player on record—along with David Robinson, Shawn Bradley, and Mark Eaton—to record so many stuffs in his first or second career game. He rejected four Pistons and two Pelicans in subsequent games as well.
Finally, there is the issue of his size as a whole and how that impacts his longevity as a pro. You know how many players this tall have played 1,000 career games? ZERO, that’s how many. Mark Eaton is the world-record holder for any player 7-3 or taller at 875 games. Ralph Sampson, Rik Smits, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Arvydas Sabonis never got there. Kristaps Porziņģis, at 402 games, is less than halfway there. We’re dealing with a small sample size, obviously, and other slightly shorter players, such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Dikembe Mutombo, had two-decade careers. But the very height that makes Wembanyama so valuable is also likely to impact his career length.
The ring is made up of 578 flawless, round brilliant white diamonds set in yellow gold. The front features Kareem's number 33, along with an image of his signature skyhook shot, which he used over Utah Jazz big man, Mark Eaton when he set the record, passing Wilt Chamberlain. The side reads "Abdul-Jabbar", his number, the date he set the record (April 5, 1984), his total career points (38,387), and the number 38, representing the years KA-J held the record.
Manu Ginobili headlines Hall Of Fame's Class of 2022 candidate list
Marc J. Spears: The @hoophall announced eligible candidates for the Class of 2022, including Manu Ginobili, Tom Chambers and Lindsey Whalen, as well Chauncey Billups, Swin Cash, Ken Anderson, Muggsy Bogues, Mark Eaton, Michael Finley, Richard Hamilton, Tim Hardaway, Mark Jackson and Shawn Marion
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The late NBA star Mark Eaton was honored posthumously today by top leaders of the nation's largest veterans association. "Not everyone who is nominated for this award receives it," Past National Commander of The American Legion John P. "Jake" Comer said during the presentation of the 2021 James V. Day "Good Guy" Award. "Many celebrities are accustomed to receiving lucrative appearance or speaking fees. We don't offer that. I say this because those who accept this prestigious award truly have proven to be good people simply by putting veterans above financial gain."
Thurl Bailey: Mark Eaton... My protector, my mentor, my friend, my brother. I’m devastated you’ve left us too soon. Thank you for what you left with me. Red heartFolded handsRight-facing fist
He leaves behind a legacy of kindness, a work ethic that so many admired and a man who made himself a basketball player from basically a lump of clay and then made himself into a visible businessman in the Utah community. Eaton was accessible, and could often be seen at games, just behind the Jazz bench. He consistently made himself available for autographs and pictures and random conversation. He was someone who treated everybody the same, no matter who that person happened to be.
Eric Walden: Rudy Gobert, on Mark Eaton: "It’s tough. He’s someone I really appreciated. He was a great guy. I texted him a few days ago. … He had a great career, but he’s an even better person. Definitely gonna be missed."
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“I know that if he was here I would have got a text after the game saying, ‘way to protect the paint big guy,’” Gobert said with a smile after the Jazz’s 121-111 Game 3 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. “I know he’s watching, and I know he’s going to be watching through the rest of the playoffs and everything else. I feel his presence.”
That’s what keeps coming up when talking to people about Eaton. Over and over you’ll hear those that knew him say that he was a great listener, a superb friend, and unendingly kind to everyone he encountered. “Obviously he had a great career, but as a human being as a person, he was someone that I related a lot,” Gobert said. “I learned a lot just from being around him. He’s definitely going to be missed, and not just by me but in the community, with all the great things that he’s done and all the people he’s been inspiring his whole life.”
Snyder added that he always appreciated the rare occasions when Eaton would speak to the team. “He would come in the locker room occasionally; he was always very sensitive to his presence and what his purpose was, and you almost had to encourage him to come in, because every time he did, he touched players, he touched coaches,” he said. “He had a way about him that would [make you] want you to open up, and he motivated in very specific ways and also in very subtle ways depending upon the situation and what was needed. The subtleties of all that, I think, speak to the compassion, with which he lived.”
“He was always at games early in my career, and he just used to always come up to me and give me advice about certain things,” Favors said. “You know, we just used to talk, and he’d tell stories.” Favors, who stands 6-foot-9 and weighs about 265 pounds, recalled how Eaton was one of the few people he’d ever come across who could make him feel small. “I mean, he was how tall — 7-3, 7-4? Yeah, 7-4. The only other player that I played against that was taller than that was Yao Ming, my rookie year,” Favors said. “He was a big guy, he was a big guy. There was a reason why he was one of the best shot-blockers in the NBA at his time.”
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