A graduate of Emmerich Manual High School in Indianapolis, the 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) guard played collegiately at Indiana University under longtime head coach Branch McCracken.

[11] He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 12 seasons; with the Pistons, Cincinnati Royals/Kansas City–Omaha Kings, Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks, and Phoenix Suns.

A consecutive three-time NBA All-Star starting in 1970,[12] Van Arsdale's play peaked as the Royals lost star Oscar Robertson to the Milwaukee Bucks.

[16] Despite Robertson’s departure from Cincinnati in 1970 being somewhat countered by the arrival of another All-Star guard in Tiny Archibald in the 1970 NBA draft,[17] the Royals continued to finish below .500.

[6] The original lockers of both Tom and Dick remain in the display case in the lobby of the Emmerich Manual High School gymnasium.

[6] After retirement, Van Arsdale authored the book, JOURNEY MAN: Celebrating an Unlucky, Unpredictable, and Undeniably Successful NBA Career.