NBA: Who are the greatest NBA players to fall short in the playoffs?

Drafted in 1965 by a bad Detroit Pistons team, Tom Van Arsdale became a legitimate star once he was traded to the Cincinnati Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) in 1969. By 1970, the team moved in a different direction, they traded away aging franchise cornerstones like Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas in favor of younger players and they drafted future superstar Nate “Tiny” Archibald. Despite these moves, they couldn’t make the playoffs.

In the 1972-73 season, the Cincinnati Royals moved west becoming the Kansas City-Omaha Kings. Archibald became a superstar winning both the scoring title and assists title, Arsdale was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers who weren’t a good team either.

The Indiana high school phenom was a good player for the Royals and made 3 All-Star teams, but his team was never able to get over this hump. He holds the record for most games played without a playoff appearance with whooping 929 games. He’s also the highest-scoring player (14,232 career points) without a playoff appearance.

His identical twin brother, Dick Van Arsdale, found more success. Similarly a three-time All-Star, he’s a Phoenix Suns legend who was a key component of their 1976 finals appearance; he’s dubbed the Original Sun because he was their first selection in the 1968 expansion draft.