Utah Jazz Star Ranked Among Greatest 7-Footers in NBA History

When listing off some of the top Utah Jazz players to ever suit up in the uniform, there are a few key names that instantly come to mind.

There are, of course, the stars of the 1980s and 90s in the form of John Stockton and Karl Malone, who had their fair share of success in Utah, despite never reaching that championship pinnacle. Even further back, you have guys like Adrian Dantley and Pete Maravich as some of the pioneers of Jazz basketball. And in recent memory, there's the duo of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, who reached the playoffs in every season they were paired with one another.

For a team that still hasn't won an NBA championship through their 52 seasons in the league, the Jazz boast some talented figures, but one that may tend to get overlooked at times is towering 7-foot-4 big man Mark Eaton.

Eaton, one of the best defensive anchors throughout the 1980s, actually remains a major figure in the scope of the Jazz's franchise history. He ranks third in the books for the team's most games and minutes played, ranks third in total rebounds, and most notably, surges above the field for the most blocks ever at 3,064 blocks, good for fifth-most throughout NBA history.

Undoubtedly a huge impact player on the defensive end for Utah in his time, and even one of the best defensive big men we've ever seen on the floor.

In fact, if you were to stack up the league's best 7-foot-4 big men throughout its entire history, it's hard to see anyone dethroning Eaton for that spot.

Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey broke down the greatest NBA player of all time at every height, where at 7-foot-4, none came close to the talent of Eaton.

"At 21 years old, Mark Eaton was famously discovered by an assistant coach from Cypress junior college while the big man was working as an auto mechanic. A half-decade later, he was in the NBA. And after his 11-year career, he retired as the all-time leader in career average for blocks per game (an honor he still holds) and multi-time Defensive Player of the Year winner. Eaton averaged more than four blocks per game in four different seasons. And in 1984-85 alone, he led the league in both defensive rebounds (8.8) and blocks (5.6) per game."

Not only an inspiring come-up story for the Jazz legend, but also a route that led him to becoming an elite defensive piece in Utah for over half a decade, and remained in Salt Lake City for his entire 11-year career, retiring at age 36.