Eaton was drafted by the Utah Jazz with the 72nd overall pick in 1982. He hadn't played much in college at UCLA (go bruins), and was drafted largely because of his size (listed between 7'3"/275 and 7'4"/290). Utah coach Fank Layden defended his pick on the basis that, "you can't teach height". Over the next 11 years, Eaton became known for his stifling defense, rebounding ability, and occasional dunks on offense. He became the defensive stopper in the shadow of Stockton & Malone, and the Jazz saw great success.
Awards earned during his career:
5 All-Defensive teams (three 1st teams)
2 Defensive Player of the Year
1 All-Star team
Statistics: Eaton is the career leader in blocks with 3.5 per game, and also boasts the highest season average (5.56 bpg) in history (both very unlikely to ever be broken). Among his other accomplishments, Eaton led the league in blocks 4 times, games played 4 times, defensive rebounding 1 time, Defensive Rating 1 time, and Defensive Win Shares 1 time. He posted 9 straight years of over 10 Defensive Win Shares, averaging 15 DWS/year over that span. Eaton also boasts a career Drtg of 100. He was hugely durable, missing only 9 games in his first 10 years (what's in the water in Utah?).
Reasoning: Defense. Having two 5-time All-Defensive players is huge, not to mention two 2-time winners of the Defensive Player of the Year award. Eaton has the size to contend with the biggest centers (unlike Rodman, Ben Wallace, Biedrins, Chandler, and others) and is not a complete offensive liability. Seeing as scoring was not a priority (with three 20 ppg scorers), drafting an anchor to my defense was a top priority (seeing as they are so rare).
My team is far:
SG: Sid "The Squid" Moncrief
SF: Vince "Vinsanity" Carter
PF: Antonio McDyess
C: Mark Eaton
BJLTNYK, you are on the clock...