 Van Arsdale with thePhiladelphia 76ers in1974 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1943-02-22)February 22, 1943 (age 82) Indianapolis,Indiana, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 202 lb (92 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Emmerich Manual (Indianapolis, Indiana) |
| College | Indiana (1962–1965) |
| NBA draft | 1965: 2nd round, 11th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Detroit Pistons |
| Playing career | 1965–1977 |
| Position | Shooting guard /small forward |
| Number | 5, 17, 4 |
| Career history | |
| 1965–1968 | Detroit Pistons |
| 1968–1973 | Cincinnati Royals / Kansas City-Omaha Kings |
| 1973–1974 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 1974–1976 | Atlanta Hawks |
| 1976–1977 | Phoenix Suns |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 14,232 (15.3 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 3,942 (4.2 rpg) |
| Assists | 2,085 (2.2 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Thomas Arthur Van Arsdale (born February 22, 1943) is an American former professionalbasketball player. A graduate ofEmmerich Manual High School inIndianapolis, the 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) guard playedcollegiately atIndiana University under longtime head coachBranch McCracken.
Van Arsdale was born on February 22, 1943, inIndianapolis, along with his identical twin brotherDick Van Arsdale. They attendedEmmerich Manual High School in Indianapolis. In 1961, the brothers were jointly awarded theIndiana Mr. Basketball award,[1][2][3] and the Trester Award for Mental Attitude.[4][5]
Van Arsdale idolized future hall of fame playerOscar Robertson when Robertson was an Indianapolis high school player, and later became Robertson's teammate in the NBA.[6]
Kentucky'sCollege Basketball Hall of Fame andNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coachAdolph Rupp tried to get the brothers to attend Kentucky, but they choseIndiana University, playing on the school's basketball team from 1962 to 1965 under head coachBranch McCracken. At 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m), Van Arsdale playedguard andsmall forward. He was anAll-American in 1965, and also anAcademic All-American. In three years, he scored 1,252 points with 723 rebounds (while his brother scored 1,240 points with 719 rebounds).[4] He averaged adouble-double for the Hoosiers over his career, with 17.4 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game.[7]
Van Arsdale was a member of the U.S. team that won the gold medal in the1965 Summer Universiade. He was inducted into theIndiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988.[8][4] In February 2019, the Van Arsdale brothers were honored by Indiana at halftime of a game between Indiana andPurdue.[9]
Van Arsdale was selected 11th overall by theDetroit Pistons in the1965 NBA draft.[7][10] He was named to theNBA All-Rookie Team for the1965–66 season, together with Dick.[11] He played in theNational Basketball Association (NBA) for 12 seasons; with the Pistons,Cincinnati Royals/Kansas City–Omaha Kings,Philadelphia 76ers,Atlanta Hawks, andPhoenix Suns. A consecutive three-timeNBA All-Star starting in 1970,[12] Van Arsdale's play peaked as the Royals lost starOscar Robertson to theMilwaukee Bucks.[13] In 1970 and 1971, he averaged scoring totals of 22.8 and 22.9 points per game, the latter of which was a career high.[14] On February 13, 1972, Van Arsdale scored a career-high 44 points in a 112–111 loss to theHouston Rockets.[15] He retired as player in 1977.[16]
Despite Robertson’s departure from Cincinnati in 1970 being somewhat countered by the arrival of another All-Star guard inTiny Archibald in the1970 NBA draft,[17] the Royals continued to finish below .500.[18] Even after being traded himself, Van Arsdale never was on a team that made the postseason. He still holds the NBA record for most career games played (929) and most career points scored (14,232) without a playoff appearance.[19][20][7][4]
The Van Arsdale twins played together through college and again in Phoenix during the1976–77 season,[21] the final for both.[6] The original lockers of both Tom and Dick remain in the display case in the lobby of the Emmerich Manual High School gymnasium.[7]
Van Arsdale served on theNBA Players Association and Retired Players Association.[6]
After retirement, Van Arsdale authored the book,JOURNEY MAN: Celebrating an Unlucky, Unpredictable, and Undeniably Successful NBA Career. He and Dick shared a post-retirement art studio inScottsdale, Arizona, which they opened in May 2018. Their art focuses on promoting racial tolerance and harmony.[6]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965–66 | Detroit | 79 | – | 25.8 | .374 | – | .721 | 3.9 | 2.6 | – | – | 10.5 |
| 1966–67 | Detroit | 79 | – | 27.0 | .391 | – | .784 | 4.3 | 2.4 | – | – | 12.2 |
| 1967–68 | Detroit | 50 | – | 16.6 | .371 | – | .743 | 2.6 | 1.6 | – | – | 6.6 |
| Cincinnati | 27 | – | 25.3 | .408 | – | .750 | 3.4 | 2.8 | – | – | 10.4 | |
| 1968–69 | Cincinnati | 77 | – | 39.7 | .444 | – | .747 | 4.6 | 2.7 | – | – | 19.4 |
| 1969–70 | Cincinnati | 71 | – | 35.8 | .451 | – | .774 | 6.5 | 2.2 | – | – | 22.8 |
| 1970–71 | Cincinnati | 82 | – | 38.4 | .456 | – | .721 | 6.1 | 2.2 | – | – | 22.9 |
| 1971–72 | Cincinnati | 73 | – | 35.6 | .456 | – | .755 | 4.8 | 2.7 | – | – | 19.2 |
| 1972–73 | Kansas City–Omaha | 49 | – | 26.2 | .457 | – | .786 | 3.5 | 1.8 | – | – | 12.4 |
| Philadelphia | 30 | – | 34.3 | .393 | – | .833 | 6.2 | 2.1 | – | – | 17.7 | |
| 1973–74 | Philadelphia | 78 | – | 39.0 | .428 | – | .851 | 5.0 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 19.6 |
| 1974–75 | Philadelphia | 9 | – | 30.3 | .422 | – | .683 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 14.0 |
| Atlanta | 73 | – | 35.2 | .429 | – | .768 | 3.4 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 18.9 | |
| 1975–76 | Atlanta | 75 | – | 27.0 | .441 | – | .759 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 10.9 |
| 1976–77 | Phoenix | 77 | – | 18.5 | .433 | – | .703 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 5.8 |
| Career | 929 | – | 30.9 | .431 | – | .762 | 4.5 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 15.3 | |
| All-Star | 3 | 0 | 7.7 | .375 | – | .333 | 1.0 | 0.7 | – | – | 4.3 | |
and Basketball Reference | International | |
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| National | |