Jerry Sloan wore #4 during his career with the Chicago Bulls, and his number was the first to be retired by the franchise.
Pete Maravich wore #44 with the Hawks.
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Mark Eaton was a 4th round draft pick for the Jazz who went on to hold the NBA records for most blocks in a season (456) and for career average in blocks per game (3.5). He led the league in Blocks four times (83-84, 84-85, 86-87 and 87-88).
In his rookie season (82-83), he came off the bench to record his first triple-double with 12 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 blocks. He also had 6 assists that game, close enough to say he nearly had a quadruple-double.
In the 84-85 season he recorded a triple-double with 12 points, 20 rebounds, and 14 blocks. In the same season he became the first player to block 10 shots in a playoff game and received the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award for the first time.
In the 86-87 season he had a triple-double with 15 points, 20 rebounds, and 12 blocks. In his career he recorded 6 triple-doubles, all of points, rebounds and blocks.
He was selected in one All-Star game (1989) in spite of having no offensive game at all, and was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the second time the same season.
He holds the league record for most games with double-figure blocks (19).
His #53 jersey has been retired by the Utah Jazz, with whom he played his entire career.
Mark Eaton was left handed, and this may have helped him to be such an effective shot-blocker, because he could use his dominant hand to defend against predominantly right-handed shooters. The fact he was 7'4" tall probably helped too.
adrian dantley was not only the face of the franchise for several years and a source of controversy for years after... he was also part of one of the longer trains of traded players ever... a string that lasted almost a quarter century.
- the jazz signed gail goodrich in 1976.
- later that summer, the league mandated a swap of the lakers' 1st and 2nd round picks in exchange for three first-round picks (1977, 1978 and 1979) and a 2nd rounder (1980) from the jazz as compensation for the jazz signing goodrich.
- the jazz traded the lakers first-round pick from that trade to the hawks for joe meriweather in 1977.
- they traded meriweather for spencer haywood in 1979.
- they traded haywood for adrian dantley 8 months later.
- after 7 seasons, they traded dantley for kent benson and kelly tripucka in 1986.
- in 1988, tripucka was traded for mike brown.
- they traded mike brown in 1993 for felton spencer.
- in 1996, they traded spencer for kenny gattison, brooks thompson and a 1999 draft pick.
- in 1999, they used that pick to draft andrei kirilenko, who played with the jazz until april 2010.
so 1976 to 2010, a big long string of players that started with gail goodrich, ended with andrei kirilenko, and along the way included #4 adrian dantley, who is 4th in the franchise rank for field goals made and attempted.
I'm impressed. You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to theNBAnerd again.