Tom Van Arsdale Played 929 Games Without Ever Making the Playoffs

Published on June 1st, 2022 6:24 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


Here is another NBA record that will likely never be broken:

Tom Van Arsdale played a staggering 929 games in his career without EVER making the playoffs.

28,682 minutes played. 12,763 field goal attempts. 14,232 points.

Zero playoffs.

There is nobody even close to Van Arsdale when it comes to this record.

The next up on the list?

Otto Moore, who played a total of 682 career games without ever making the playoffs.

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There are currently no active players in the NBA who are even close to Van Arsdale's record.

The two active players with the longest streaks without making the playoffs - Buddy Hield and Brandon Knight - have played 468 and 451 games without making the playoffs, respectively.

In this day and age of parity in the NBA, it seems quite unlikely that anybody will ever break Van Arsdale's record.

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It's not like Van Arsdale was stuck on one really bad franchise for the entirety of his career - he played for five different teams (Pistons, Royals/Kings, 76ers, Hawks, Suns) over the course of his career.

Van Arsdale was a good player as well - he was a three-time All-Star and averaged more than 15 points per game over the course of his career.

In both 1970 and 1971, Van Arsdale averaged more than 22 points per game, though was never able to enjoy the postseason.

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Tom Van Arsdale also holds the record for most ever points (14,232) by a player without making the playoffs.