He spent ten seasons (1984–1994) playing with the Cavaliers in which he would be the last Cavalier to wear #25 before Mark Price in which was retired in honor of, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets and Washington Bullets (he split 1993–94 between these two teams, appearing for the Continental Basketball Association's Rochester Renegade in between).

Having had his best years with the Sixers, playing alongside Charles Barkley, he scored in double figures four of the five seasons he spent in Philadelphia, with a best output of 16.2 points per game in 1988–89.

Anderson finished his NBA career with totals of 7,056 points (10.6 average), 2,312 rebounds (3.5) and 952 assists (1.4).

He played at a top level until the age of 41, successively representing Montpellier Basket (1994–95, 1997–99), Maccabi Tel Aviv (1995–96), Le Mans SB (1996–97) and Angers BC 49 in the French and Israeli professional leagues.

[4] His son Ron Anderson Jr. played for South Florida for the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons, after transferring from Kansas State, and later professionally in France.