Dick Van Arsdale was the first Phoenix Sun when the franchise joined the NBA in 1968. He took their first steps when he drove for a layup for the Suns’ first points. He matured into their first NBA All-Star, grew up to be part of their first playoff team and became the sage one for their first NBA Finals team and in later franchise roles.
Van Arsdale lived 37 of his 81 years as a face and fixture of the franchise, whether he was the Suns’ highly skilled and strongly willed player, a bright broadcaster, a learn-on-the-fly coach or the talent-tabbing executive.
“The Original Sun” and the franchise’s forever son passed away on Dec. 16. He left lasting legacies and touchstones in the memories of Suns fans, as well as the base blocks that built a burgeoning sports town.
When Van Arsdale was selected by then-Suns general manager Jerry Colangelo in the 1968 NBA Expansion Draft, he said he doubted it would be “a turning point” for his career. When he arrived on a 118-degree day in Phoenix, he hated the city. But it was love at first sight for Phoenix and its firstborn Sun.
The mutually beneficial love affair lasted 47 years. It went well beyond Van Arsdale’s nine seasons as a Suns player, which included three All-Star seasons that helped put his No. 5 in the Veterans Memorial Coliseum rafters alongside Connie Hawkins’ No. 42.
“My only regret was not being able to win the NBA championship,” Van Arsdale said upon retirement, not knowing he would get as close as any Suns great has in 56 seasons.
Van Arsdale turned to art after a death-defying stroke in 2005, and his storybook start in basketball was like a scene he would have drawn. Dick and his twin brother Tom Van Arsdale were born 15 minutes apart and grew up near Indianapolis battling on a backyard dirt court with two pieces of wood nailed to a tree as their hoop’s backboard.
Fraternal fisticuffs formed two players who were identical beyond looks. Dick and Tom grew up equal in just about everything from grade point averages to scoring averages. They shared Indiana’s Mr. Basketball honors, each scored 17 points per game at Indiana University and were drafted consecutively into the NBA. Only as pros were the first separated, with Dick going 13th to New York and Tom picked 14th by Detroit.
With blonde hair, blue eyes and jawlines as ruggedly strong as their play, Life magazine photos of the twins drew a Warner Bros. seven-year contract offer while they were Hoosiers juniors. The Van Arsdales declined, but their pro basketball lives still led to them starring in a Miller Lite television commercial, arguing “Less filling” vs. “Great taste” before debating who was Dick and who was Tom.
They were more bashing than dashing on the court. Those backyard brawls formed styles that were predicated on defense and drives. Their perimeter shots developed as pros and helped each twin make three All-Star Games — they remained the best NBA brothers until Marc and Pau Gasol came along more than 30 years later.
A Suns career begins
After the 1968 expansion draft, Van Arsdale went from teaming with Hall of Fame players Walt Frazier and Willis Reed in New York to playing in Phoenix alongside Hall of Fame players Gail Goodrich and Hawkins.“The Flying Dutchman” won over new pro basketball fans in Phoenix with relentless drives, an array of shots and a competitive fire. Eventually as familiar as the sunburst on the sides of the uniform’s shorts, Van Arsdale racked up 12,060 points as a Sun, the most in franchise history until Walter Davis broke his record. In that NBA era, Van Arsdale was the rare non-center who could shoot 50% from the field while averaging 20 points per game and also be an NBA All-Defensive Team honoree.
Van Arsdale extended his Phoenix basketball career beyond his playing years with a sense of humor and savvy. He suggested switching jerseys with Tom at an NBA All-Star Game. (Did they? It’s anyone’s guess.) In his final Suns season, the brothers were reunited when his Tom joined the Suns, the duo's only pro season together.
Van Arsdale traded sneakers for a headset, serving as a Suns broadcast analyst for 15 years alongside late legend Al McCoy. When the Suns fired coach John MacLeod in 1987, Colangelo turned to Van Arsdale to finish the season as interim coach. He figured that out, too, starting 4-11 and ending on a 10-1 run.
Van Arsdale preferred a front-office role and became the vice president of player personnel when Colangelo formed an ownership group to buy the Suns in 1987. He remained a part of the Suns basketball executive team until his 2005 stroke. An extra blood vessel sustained his brain’s blood supply when his wife, Barbara, found him speechless at their home patio door.
He retained the motor skills to draw, drive and fly-fish, but Van Arsdale went through a rigorous rehabilitation to regain limited speech. The twins could always finish each other’s thoughts, but now Dick needed Tom to do so.
A father of two and grandfather of four, Dick turned to his detailed pen-and-ink art and eventually partnered with Tom to open Van Arsdale ART studio in Old Town Scottsdale, where the brothers spent their days in skillful art and playful arguments. Dick remained a Phoenix fixture, visible for Ring of Honor ceremonies or Scottsdale strolls.
During his Suns years, Van Arsdale opened an Air Force recruitment commercial by saying, “Basketball’s been good to me.” And he was great for Phoenix.
