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Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is tough. Hope you are familiar with one particular former NBA player, and that you know your soccer team names! If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published byThe Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it for free online.
Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta
Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Head to the alley.
Green group hint: Football overseas.
Blue group hint: Longtime NBA player.
Purple group hint: Soccer monikers.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Bowling terms.
Green group: Cities hosting NFL international games this season.
Blue group: Associated with Vince Carter.
Purple group: Words in the names of MLS clubs.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The completed NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Sept. 5, 2025.
NYT/Screenshot by CNET
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is bowling terms. The four answers are gutter, spare, split and strike.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is cities hosting NFL international games this season. The four answers are Berlin, London, Madrid and São Paulo.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is associated with Vince Carter. The four answers are dunk contest, Toronto, UNC and Vinsanity.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is words in the names of MLS clubs. The four answers are city, inter, real and united.
Quick tips for Connections: Sports Edition
#1: Don’t grab for the easiest group. For each word, think about other sports categories it might fit in – is this a word that can be used in football, or to describe scoring options?
#2: Second meanings are important. The puzzle loves to use last names and even college names that mean other things, to fool you into thinking they are words, not names.
#3: And the opposite is also true. Words like HURTS might seem like a regular word, but it’s also the last name of at least one pro athlete.
