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Today's Connections: Sports Edition is heavily focused on basketball, so make sure you know your hoops. If you are struggling with this problem but still want to solve it, read the tips and answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, a subscription sports journalism site owned by The Times. It's not on the NYT Games app, but it's on The Athletic's own app. Or you can play it for free online.
Read more: NYT Connections: Puzzle Sports Edition out of beta
Tips for Today's Groups Connections: Sports Edition
Here are four grouping clues in today's Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, from the simplest yellow grouping to the challenging (and sometimes bizarre) purple grouping.
Yellow group hint: Stop for a moment.
Green group hint: Where you can soak.
Blue group hint: This name is also a river.
Purple group hint: Sounds like…
Answers to Today's Connections Groups: Sports Edition
Yellow group: Pause for recovery.
Green group: Parts of a basketball hoop.
Blue group: Jordans.
Purple group: NBA player homophones.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here are the most popular letters used in English words
What are today's Connections: Sports Edition answers?
Completed puzzle NYT Connections: Sports Edition December 23, 2025
Yellow words in today's connections
The theme is a pause to recover. The four answers are: break, respite, respite and rest.
Green words in today's connections
The theme is parts of a basketball hoop. Four answers: base, glass, mesh and rim.
Blue words in today's connections
Theme: Jordan. The four answers are Chiles, Love, Poole and Spieth.
Purple words in today's connections
The topic is homophones of NBA players. Four answers: barns, flag, heart and fast.
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