The Monday edition of NYT Connections Sports Edition arrives with puzzle #707, serving up a grid that spans rookie language, sideline leadership, familiar expressions, and cross-sport nameplay.
What Makes Connections Sports Edition Tick
For newcomers, NYT Connections Sports Edition presents 16 sports-themed words that must be sorted into four thematic groups of four. The twist? You're limited to four mistakes, and the color-coded difficulty system (yellow being easiest, purple being trickiest) means surface-level connections often mislead.
Connections Sports Edition brings the same addictive puzzle format to the world of athletics, featuring athletes, teams, sports terminology, and legendary moments. The game's genius lies in its red herrings, words that could fit multiple sports categories but belong in only one.
Today's Grid at a Glance
Here are the 16 words staring back at you in puzzle #707:
AMEN | CORNER | GREEN | SEAT
NEW | STOVE | FINCH | TAGE
KLAY | KERR | RAW | BICKERSTAFF
YOUNG | ALYSSA | REDICK | HAND
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Think about how a veteran might describe a rookie who still needs seasoning.
Green Category Clue: Shift your attention from the athletes competing to the figures directing action from the sideline.
Blue Category Hint: Try placing the same short temperature word before several entries.
Purple Category Teaser: Look for entries that can precede one shared surname drawn from across the sports world.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (Inexperienced): GREEN, NEW, RAW, YOUNG
GREEN, YOUNG, NEW, and RAW can all describe someone who is INEXPERIENCED. The wording shifts from age and novelty to seasoning, but the underlying idea stays consistent.
YOUNG is the mild red herring because its shape resembles the sports surnames elsewhere in the grid, including KERR, FINCH, REDICK, and BICKERSTAFF.
Green (Nba Head Coaches): BICKERSTAFF, FINCH, KERR, REDICK
KERR, FINCH, REDICK, and BICKERSTAFF are NBA HEAD COACHES, giving this set its clean surname-based connection.
KLAY creates the sharpest crossover because Klay Thompson and Steve Kerr share extensive Golden State history, yet KLAY belongs to the surname-completion group.
Blue (Can Come After "hot"): CORNER, HAND, SEAT, STOVE
CORNER, STOVE, SEAT, and HAND can each follow HOT: hot corner, hot stove, hot seat, and hot hand. The resulting phrases range from baseball language to pressure and momentum.
Purple (_____ Thompson): ALYSSA, AMEN, KLAY, TAGE
AMEN, KLAY, TAGE, and ALYSSA each complete a sports name when followed by THOMPSON: Amen Thompson, Klay Thompson, Tage Thompson, and Alyssa Thompson.
The trick works because those first names cross basketball, hockey, and soccer, so recognizing one Thompson does not automatically expose the full set.
The Verdict
The INEXPERIENCED set should fall first because GREEN, YOUNG, NEW, and RAW form the grid's broadest semantic cluster.
The real trap sits between KLAY and KERR, whose Golden State connection makes the coaching set look larger than it is.
Purple is the streak-deciding group, since the shared THOMPSON ending demands recognition across three sports rather than one league.
Reset and Repeat
The cross-sport Thompson construction is today's standout flourish, turning four ordinary-looking first names into one satisfying final link. Reset the board and come back tomorrow for another grid.
For now, puzzle #707 is solved. See you at midnight for the next round.
