Legendary former Phoenix Suns star Dick Van Arsdale, who died Monday at 81, had a strong bond with his twin brother, a passion for art and a competitive streak. He put the Suns’ stunning run to the 1976 NBA Finals high up on his career achievements.
“That has to be right at the top of the list,” Van Arsdale once said of the 1976 playoffs run. “That’s what everybody in the NBA shoots for, to win a championship. To get to the final series is an accomplishment. That was Alvan Adams’ rookie year and I remember him saying, ‘God, this is great. We’ll do this every year. It’ll be easy. We’ll be back.’ “
Van Arsdale’s path to the NBA began in Indianapolis, where he was born 15 minutes after his twin brother, Tom. They grew up as inseparable friends and fierce competitors. Dick idolized Oscar Robertson while growing up and wound up sharing Indiana’s Mr. Basketball honors with Tom. Dick was the valedictorian of their high school class with Tom right behind him in third.
The Van Arsdales played collegiately at Indiana, where they had almost identical career averages – 17.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game for Tom and 17.2 points and 10.0 rebounds per game for Dick. The twins’ looks in a “Life” magazine photo attracted the attention of Warner Bros., which offered them a seven-year movie contract that they declined.
Dick was named a UPI third-team All-American as an Indiana senior and he won a gold medal alongside his brother for the United States in the 1965 World University Games.
Dick was drafted with the 10th overall pick in the 1965 NBA Draft by New York with Tom going one pick later to Detroit. The loneliness of being separated for the first time made Tom leave the Pistons, but Dick talked Tom into returning. Dick made the 1965-66 All-Rookie team but was left unprotected for the Suns to claim in the 1968 expansion draft.
It was 118 degrees on the day Dick and his wife, Barbara, first visited Phoenix.
“We thought, ‘Oh, my God,’ ” Dick said decades later. “We hated it.”
It didn’t take them long to change their opinion, and they made the Valley their home.
In 1969, the 6-foot-5 small forward was moved to shooting guard when the team acquired Connie Hawkins and Paul Silas. Van Arsdale had made his stamp as a competitive player who thrived on defense (an All-Defensive team selection in 1973-74) and relentless drives, but the position switch prompted him to develop a better perimeter shot.
He wound up scoring 12,060 points as a Sun, a franchise record that stood until Walter Davis broke it.
Van Arsdale led the Suns with 21.9 points per game in 1970-71 and was second on team in five other seasons to Hawkins, Gail Goodrich and Charlie Scott. “The Flying Dutchman” was picked to three consecutive All-Star Games from 1969 to 1971, facing off against his brother in two of them.
“I was just happy to be there,” Van Arsdale once said. “When you are introduced along with Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain and people like that, you’re in pretty elite company. All I had to do to please myself was run on the court with those guys.”
His No. 5 was retired alongside Hawkins’ No. 42 for many years at Veterans Memorial Coliseum and then-America West Arena before a Ring of Honor was created to expand the honorees.
Van Arsdale played his final season with his twin, when Tom also closed his career with the Suns in 1976-77.
They entered the real estate business upon retirement, but Dick also worked as a broadcast analyst for the Suns. In 1987, when John McLeod was fired, then-General Manager Jerry Colangelo made Van Arsdale the interim head coach to finish the season. The Suns went 14-12 under him, winning 10 of their last 11 games but missing the playoffs.
He decided that coaching was not for him and that he enjoyed scouting and player evaluation more. He was made vice president of player personnel when Colangelo formed a group that bought the franchise in 1987. Van Arsdale was promoted to senior vice president in 2004.
In November of 2005, Van Arsdale’s wife since college, Barbara, found her husband speechless and rattling a patio door one morning. He had suffered a stroke and was fortunate to have an extra vessel of blood supply. The stroke did not affect him physically but hurt his ability to communicate. His speech improved greatly over the years with dedicated therapy and he found another outlet — art. Van Arsdale became an accomplished pen-and-ink artist who worked daily on his craft and had his work shown at galleries and sold for charity.
In later years, Dick and Tom “worked” side by side at their art studio in Scottsdale. When people visited, Tom filled in the gaps in Dick’s memory and often found the words that eluded Dick after the stroke.
Dick and his wife, Barbara, had a daughter, Jill, and a son, Jason, and four grandchildren.
This story was written by former Republic Suns reporter Paul Coro.
Republic sports columnist Kent Somers contributed.
Kent Somers is a former reporter for The Republic.
