NBA Connections

NBA Connections is a basketball take on the grouping-puzzle format: 16 tiles, four groups of four, and only four mistakes allowed. The links are things fans know – No. 1 overall draft picks, MVP winners, where players were born, which college they played for, which division a team plays in, or a famous nickname. Some tiles look like they fit more than one group, so the order you solve in matters. Every day there is one daily puzzle that is the same for everyone, and the Unlimited button gives you a random puzzle from the archive whenever you want more.

Select four tiles and press Submit. If all four share the hidden connection, the group is revealed with its name and color. If not, you use up one of your four mistakes. When three of your four picks belong together, the game tells you "One away…". Shuffle rearranges the tiles to help you spot new patterns, and Deselect all clears your picks. The puzzle ends when you find all four groups or run out of mistakes – then every group is shown.

Groups use stable basketball facts rather than this season's rosters: former No. 1 overall picks, regular-season MVP winners, players born outside the United States (Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Spain, Serbia, Lithuania), college programs like Duke and Kentucky, NBA divisions, franchises that moved cities, players who turned pro straight out of high school, and well-known nicknames such as The Beard or The Mailman. Watch for red herrings – a player can be both a No. 1 pick and an MVP, but only one answer works for the whole board.

Start with the group you are surest about; every solved group leaves fewer tiles to confuse you. Look at team names and nicknames separately from player names – they often form their own groups. If you get "One away…", swap a single tile instead of starting over. Your daily streak and win rate are saved in this browser only.