Mark Eaton dies

[Birdman]

Mark Eaton pass away at age 64..he was at the Jazz game just the other night..RIP

[liam]

That's sad. Truly a giant of a man. RIP

[liam]

He died because of a bike crash. RIP.

[mr. dee]

Hopefully this will get the Jazz motivated but I doubt it.

[gouki88]

Sad stuff. Was before my time but absolutely loved using him in 2K.

First Shawn Bradley paralysed in a bike hit, now Eaton dead. Tragic. RIP

[Somebody]

RIP. One of the best defenders in his generation and a defensive titan who deserves to be viewed in the same light as Big Ben/Mutombo/Draymond/Gobert.

[ozgod]

One of the guys I remember when I was first old enough to remember the players' names. RIP Mark.

[moiso]

Sad stuff. Was before my time but absolutely loved using him in 2K.

First Shawn Bradley paralysed in a bike hit, now Eaton dead. Tragic. RIP

So weird that these two guys are both over 7'4 and I can't think of any other players known for bicycle accidents.  What are the odds?  And does it say something about 7 footers on bicycles?

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Sad. He was one of my favorite players when I was a kid—his massive size and amazing shot-blocking ability fascinated me. RIP, big fella.

[Somebody]

Sad stuff. Was before my time but absolutely loved using him in 2K.

First Shawn Bradley paralysed in a bike hit, now Eaton dead. Tragic. RIP

So weird that these two guys are both over 7'4 and I can't think of any other players known for bicycle accidents.  What are the odds?  And does it say something about 7 footers on bicycles?

Probably indicates that most bicycles available simply aren't designed to support 7 footers sitting on them I guess?

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

RIP. One of the best defenders in his generation and a defensive titan who deserves to be viewed in the same light as Big Ben/Mutombo/Draymond/Gobert.

I agree 100%. Still holds the record for blocks in a season (456), highest career block-per-game average (3.51), and highest single-season average (5.6). Five and a half blocks a game! Insane.

[Somebody]

RIP. One of the best defenders in his generation and a defensive titan who deserves to be viewed in the same light as Big Ben/Mutombo/Draymond/Gobert.

To expand on this, the Jazz defences he led during his prime (roughly '85 to '89) were fantastic - they finished with rDRTGs of -4.5, -2.6, -4.6, -4.9 and -6.3 during that timespan (-4 is in the upper stratosphere historically while -6 is on the edge of an all-time great one), finishing 1st in team DRTG every year besides the '86 season (3rd).

As he aged, the Jazz fell back to earth defensively and never reached those heights again despite stocking up on defensive big men to pair with Malone in the frontcourt for the remainder of the 90s. He also comes out pretty decently in adjusted +/- studies despite his short prime hurting him in these attempts to approximate his impact - he has a good-but-not-great result in this data triangulation attempt that used considerable data from his post-prime years, which suggests that he might have truly had superstar impact during his prime as a defensive anchor.

[gouki88]

Sad stuff. Was before my time but absolutely loved using him in 2K.

First Shawn Bradley paralysed in a bike hit, now Eaton dead. Tragic. RIP

So weird that these two guys are both over 7'4 and I can't think of any other players known for bicycle accidents.  What are the odds?  And does it say something about 7 footers on bicycles?

Right? How weird? I thought it would be near-impossible to miss someone that huge on a bike, but maybe it's hard to ride one when you're that size? Not sure.

[Neurotic Guy]

Sad stuff. Was before my time but absolutely loved using him in 2K.

First Shawn Bradley paralysed in a bike hit, now Eaton dead. Tragic. RIP

So weird that these two guys are both over 7'4 and I can't think of any other players known for bicycle accidents.  What are the odds?  And does it say something about 7 footers on bicycles?

Right? How weird? I thought it would be near-impossible to miss someone that huge on a bike, but maybe it's hard to ride one when you're that size? Not sure.

I guess more information is probably needed to discern what happened.  Heart attack or stroke would be among possibilities I suppose.  Regardless, a sad loss for his family and friends. R.I.P. 

[Birdman]

Did not know he holds the record for most blocks in a season..impressive