From Fixing Tires to Blocking Shots

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In today’s edition…

After sitting on the bench for all of high school, this “uncoordinated” teen gave up on basketball.

He spent the next 4 years working as a mechanic.

But his life changed when a particular customer walked into his tire shop to ask a simple question.

Let’s dive in 👇

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From Changing Oil To Blocking Shots: Mark Eaton’s Unique Journey To The NBA

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When you think of impactful NBA big men of the 1980s, you might think of names like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Jack Sikma.

Yet for every All-Star, the NBA has been full of players who defied the odds, overcame obstacles, and countered stereotypes.

One of those players was Mark Edward Eaton – a 7’4”, 275lb mountain of a man who transformed from a relative unknown into a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

"You never think your own story is all that interesting, or that it would be worthy of a movie,” Eaton said, “but it’s definitely unique.”

The son of 6’9” Bud and 6’0" Delores, Mark Eaton grew up in Inglewood, California.

Despite his height, he found more enjoyment in playing water polo than he did in hoops.

"I was growing, I was uncoordinated, and I don’t think the coaches knew what to do with me."

As a 6’11” high school senior, Eaton suited up for the Westminster Lions but found himself riding the pine as his uncoordinated, lanky 175lb frame proved to be of little help to the team.

“I sat on the end of the bench and struggled through high school with the whole basketball thing.”

At the end of his final high school season, Eaton admitted, “It’s time to give this up and go get a job or do something. I wasn’t interested in going to a university at that point in time. A friend of mine was going to trade school in Arizona.” 

After graduating, Mark followed in his father’s footsteps as a mechanic, enrolling in the Arizona Automotive Institute to become a service technician.

Upon returning to California, Eaton got a job working at a tire shop where to be fair to customers and on-lookers, it was a bit odd to see a 7’4” man crawling out from underneath a car.

In the spring of 1977, Tom Lubin, an assistant junior college coach with the Cypress Chargers noticed Eaton at the shop and asked the same question many others did:

“Why aren't you playing basketball?”

Annoyed, Mark brushed him off.

“I was like, ‘Do you want your car fixed or not?’” Eaton remembered.

“Let’s stop with all the dribble about being tall and being a basketball player because every single person that came into my shop asked me that same question.”

But Lubin knew a thing or two about big men. He'd helped former ABA star Swen Nater kickstart his college career.

Despite being 21 years old – and four years removed from playing organized basketball – Eaton eventually gave in to Lubin’s constant pressure.

“I know some things about basketball that you don’t know,” the coach told him.

"I know things specifically designed for big guys that you’ve probably never heard of before. If you would give me 30 minutes on the basketball court, let me show you a couple of those things. If you don't like what you see, I’ll leave you alone. You can go on about your life.”

Lubin showed Mark a few simple moves that hooked his interest.

“The first couple of weeks were pretty rough, but the thing that kept me going was his commitment to me,” Eaton said.

“After doing that for 3 or 4 months and getting myself in a little better condition, I decided, ‘I’ll try it for one year. Let’s see what happens.’ He convinced me to go back and I made the commitment to do it. That’s how it started.”

After months of training together after work and on Eaton’s off days, the 21-year-old found a calling on the defensive end as a shot blocker and presence in the paint.

Mark eventually put down the tire iron and committed to playing for the Cypress College Chargers.

Following his freshman season – his fourth year out of high school – Eaton was selected by the Phoenix Suns during the 1979 NBA Draft.

It was a rapid rise.

But rather than turning pro, Mark returned to the California campus to continue working on his game.

While helping the Chargers to a championship during his second season, Eaton grabbed the attention of UCLA Bruins coach Larry Brown.

Playing sparingly during his first year with UCLA, Eaton played even less during his senior year, leading to much frustration after working so hard to improve his game.

After being kept off the travel squad for the team's final trip, Mark thought he might be heading back to the tire shop for good.

While at one of the famed UCLA summer runs, Eaton struggled to keep up with the smaller, quicker players on the floor, making him question his future.

Standing on the sidelines catching his breath, Eaton found himself in a conversation with Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain, who was in the building watching the action unfold.

“First of all young fella, you were never going to catch that guy, and more importantly, it’s not your job,” Chamberlain told Eaton, taking the young big man under the hoop.

“Your job is to stop players from getting here. Your job is to make them miss their shot, get the rebound, throw it up to the guard, let them go on the other end, and score. Your job is to cruise down the halfcourt and see what’s going on.”

Looking back, Mark called this five-minute conversation the turning point of his career.

Despite his struggles to get on the floor for the Bruins, Eaton’s size was still attractive enough for the Utah Jazz to select him with the 72nd pick in the 1982 NBA Draft.

Eaton’s rookie season was far from memorable, averaging 4.3 points and 5.7 rebounds, but it was the 3.4 blocks that proved to be valuable to the Jazz.

In just his second season, his first as a full-time starter, Eaton paced the league with 4.3 blocks per game, more than Ralph Sampson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, or Bill Walton.

His third season in the league proved to be his best, as he averaged 9.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, and a record-setting 5.6 blocks (a record that still stands today).

What Eaton lacked in quickness and offensive footwork, he more than made up for on the defensive end.

He became the ultimate rim protector, changing the trajectory of games while hardly touching the ball on offense.

Unfortunately for Eaton, despite earning two Defensive Player of the Year Awards (1985 and '89), five All-Defensive Team honors, and leading the league in blocks on four occasions, he was never regarded as one of the NBA’s elite big men due to his lack of scoring.

However, the NBA recognized Eaton’s contributions to the game, naming him to the 1989 All-Star Game. In 9 minutes, Eaton took no shots but recorded 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. 

During the first ten years of Eaton’s 11-year NBA career, he missed just nine games.

But in what would be his final season, back and knee injuries limited the big man to just 64 appearances.

Finishing his career ranked fourth all-time in blocked shots (ahead of names like Tim Duncan, David Robinson, and Shaquille O’Neal), Eaton’s average of 3.5 rejections per game remains the highest in NBA history.

His 456 blocks during the 1984-85 season still stands as the best of all time.

“It kind of astounds me,” Eaton said.

“I always thought there would be someone that came along and knocked me off the block. It’s remarkable. I don’t think about it a whole lot, but sometimes I look at all the great centers that have come along and nobody has come close to breaking that record. It’s kind of crazy.”

Not fitting the traditional mold of what an NBA big man was supposed to offer, Eaton’s NBA journey serves as a reminder that you don’t have to be like everyone else to be successful.

“I’m a big believer in what my junior college coach did for me...If you commit yourself to others, the rest will come.”

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Today’s story was written by our friend, Steve Lee. Help us spread the word by sharing it with someone who’d enjoy it!

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Til next time,
Tyler

Extra Innings…

👀 In case you missed it: He went from zero-star recruit to retail employee to up-and-coming NFL star. You’ll see him on the field tonight trying to sack Jalen Hurts.

🏈 Here’s a video of then-6th-string QB Jordan Love training in the gym in 2016.

🤔 I knew that kid Michael from Elf looked like someone I see on TV every week.

🌟 Trivia Answer: B) John Candy – here’s a good article about his impact on the league.

CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEA 🎁 👇