# Dick Van Arsdale

Richard Albert Van Arsdale (February 22, 1943 – December 16, 2024) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A three-time NBA All-Star selection, his No. 5 was retired by the Phoenix Suns.
Van Arsdale played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers, along with his identical twin brother, Tom. The New York Knicks selected Van Arsdale in the second round of the 1965 NBA draft. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team and played three seasons for the Knicks before being selected by the Suns with their first pick of the 1968 NBA expansion draft. An All-Star in each of his first three seasons with Phoenix, he is known as "the Original Sun". He was later an interim coach, executive, and color commentator for the team.

## Early life and education

Van Arsdale was born on February 22, 1943, in Indianapolis, along with his identical twin brother, Tom. They attended Emmerich Manual High School in Indianapolis. In 1961, the brothers were jointly awarded the Indiana Mr. Basketball award, and the Trester Award for Mental Attitude.

## College career

Kentucky Wildcats coach Adolph Rupp tried to get the brothers to attend the University of Kentucky, but they chose Indiana University Bloomington, playing for the Hoosiers from 1962 to 1965 under head coach Branch McCracken. At 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m), Van Arsdale played guard and small forward. He was an All-American in 1965, and also an Academic All-American. In three years, he scored 1,240 points with 719 rebounds (while his brother scored 1,252 points with 723 rebounds). He averaged a double-double for the Hoosiers over his career, with 17.2 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game. In 1963–64, he was named to the All-Big Ten team after averaging 22.3 points and 12.4 rebounds per game in his second year with the Hoosiers.
Van Arsdale was a member of the U.S. team that won the gold medal in the 1965 Summer Universiade. He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988. In February 2019, the Van Arsdale brothers were honored by Indiana at halftime of a game between Indiana and Purdue.

## Professional career

Van Arsdale was selected by the New York Knicks in the second round of the 1965 NBA draft with the 10th overall pick, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team in 1966, together with Tom. They were the first pair of identical twins to play in the league.
Van Arsdale played in the NBA for twelve seasons; three with the Knicks and the remainder with the Phoenix Suns, their first selection in the 1968 expansion draft. Van Arsdale was a three-time All-Star (1969–1971) and an NBA All-Defensive Second Team selection (1974), and was consistently one of the better free throw shooters in the league, averaging 79% over his entire career, and near or over 80% from 1969–1977. He retired from the NBA in 1977 and is remembered in Phoenix basketball lore as "the Original Sun". In the NBA, he averaged 16.4 points per game, 4.1 rebounds per game, and 3.3 assists per game, and his number 5 jersey was retired by the Suns.

## Post-playing career

Van Arsdale later became the Suns' general manager and senior vice president of player personnel. Following the firing of John MacLeod in February 1987, he was the interim head coach for that season's final 26 games. He also worked as a television and radio color commentator for the Suns, alongside Al McCoy.

## Personal life and death

He was the identical twin brother of Tom Van Arsdale. The twins played together through college and again in Phoenix during the 1976–77 season, the final for both. The original lockers of both Tom and Dick remain in the display case in the lobby of the Emmerich Manual High School gymnasium.
In 2005, he suffered a massive stroke, but made a physical recovery, though with some speech difficulties. He and Tom shared a post-retirement art studio in Scottsdale, Arizona, which they opened in May 2018. Their art focuses on promoting racial tolerance and harmony.
Van Arsdale died of kidney failure in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 16, 2024, at the age of 81.

## Career playing statistics
### NBA

Source

#### Regular season

| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 1965–66 | New York | 79 | 69 | 29.0 | .428 | .715 | 4.8 | 2.3 | | | 12.3 |
| 1966–67 | New York | 79 | 79 | 36.6 | .449 | .729 | 7.0 | 3.1 | | | 15.1 |
| 1967–68 | New York | 78 | 50 | 30.1 | .436 | .670 | 5.4 | 2.9 | | | 11.0 |
| 1968–69 | Phoenix | 80 | | 42.4 | .442 | .705 | 6.9 | 4.8 | | | 21.0 |
| 1969–70 | Phoenix | 77 | | 38.5 | .508 | .798 | 3.4 | 4.4 | | | 21.3 |
| 1970–71 | Phoenix | 81 | | 39.0 | .452 | .811 | 3.9 | 4.1 | | | 21.9 |
| 1971–72 | Phoenix | 82 | | 37.8 | .463 | .845 | 4.1 | 3.6 | | | 19.7 |
| 1972–73 | Phoenix | 81 | | 36.8 | .476 | .859 | 4.0 | 3.3 | | | 18.4 |
| 1973–74 | Phoenix | 78 | | 36.3 | .500 | .853 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 1.2 | .2 | 17.8 |
| 1974–75 | Phoenix | 70 | | 34.6 | .470 | .832 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 1.2 | .2 | 16.1 |
| 1975–76 | Phoenix | 58 | | 32.2 | .484 | .830 | 2.4 | 2.4 | .9 | .2 | 12.9 |
| 1976–77 | Phoenix | 78 | | 19.7 | .456 | .873 | 1.5 | 1.5 | .4 | .1 | 7.7 |
| Career | Career | 921 | 198 | 34.5 | .464 | .790 | 4.1 | 3.3 | .9 | .2 | 16.4 |
| All-Star | All-Star | 3 | 0 | 12.7 | .500 | .000 | 2.7 | 1.7 | | | 5.3 |

#### Playoffs

| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 1967 | New York | 4 | 38.3 | .319 | .727 | 6.3 | 3.5 | | | 11.5 |
| 1968 | New York | 4 | 22.0 | .227 | .750 | 4.0 | 3.3 | | | 3.3 |
| 1970 | Phoenix | 7 | 36.4 | .430 | .879 | 2.6 | 4.1 | | | 16.4 |
| 1976 | Phoenix | 19* | 24.8 | .488 | .870 | 1.2 | 2.0 | .7 | .1 | 8.5 |
| Career | Career | 34 | 28.5 | .422 | .838 | 2.4 | 2.8 | .7 | .1 | 9.9 |

### College

Source
| Year | Team | GP | FG% | FT% | RPG | PPG |
| 1962–63 | Indiana | 24 | .422 | .718 | 8.9 | 12.2 |
| 1963–64 | Indiana | 24 | .449 | .803 | 12.4 | 22.3 |
| 1964–65 | Indiana | 24 | .446 | .852 | 8.7 | 17.2 |
| Career | Career | 72 | .442 | .793 | 10.0 | 17.2 |

## Head coaching record

| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
| Phoenix | 1986–87 | 26 | 14 | 12 | .538 | 5th in Pacific | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
Source