The Sunday edition of NYT Connections Sports Edition arrives with puzzle #748, serving up a grid that spans college sports, professional careers, and a spelling trick with a convincing sports disguise. Familiar names offer a foothold, but recognition alone won't settle every connection.
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 #748:
COWBOYS | BOARS | BULLS | THUNDER
PACERS | RIMS | USA | ALLOWS
GOLDEN HURRICANE | SOONERS | SURRENDERS | KINGS
CYCLONES | YIELDS | GRANTS | CONCEDES
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Look for everyday language that also fits a competitive setting.
Green Category Clue: Geography can connect names from different levels of competition.
Blue Category Hint: Follow an athlete's path beyond a single professional roster.
Purple Category Teaser: Treat spelling as a clue rather than taking every sports association at face value.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (Gives Up): ALLOWS, CONCEDES, SURRENDERS, YIELDS
SURRENDERS, ALLOWS, CONCEDES, and YIELDS fit GIVES UP. Read them as verbs describing relinquishing something or permitting an opponent something, rather than as sports names.
GRANTS is the useful decoy here because it can also mean permits. That resemblance makes it tempting beside ALLOWS, but its spelling supplies a tighter connection elsewhere.
Green (Oklahoma Teams): COWBOYS, GOLDEN HURRICANE, SOONERS, THUNDER
THUNDER, SOONERS, COWBOYS, and GOLDEN HURRICANE are the OKLAHOMA TEAMS. They point to Oklahoma City, the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and the University of Tulsa, respectively.
COWBOYS creates the sharpest overlap because the name also belongs to Dallas's NFL team. Here, the Oklahoma connection takes priority over that football association.
Blue (Tyrese Haliburton Teams): CYCLONES, KINGS, PACERS, USA
PACERS, KINGS, USA, and CYCLONES trace TYRESE HALIBURTON TEAMS. His basketball career connects Indiana and Sacramento with the United States national team and Iowa State.
BULLS and THUNDER can distract from this set because both are NBA names, just like PACERS and KINGS. The deciding connection is one athlete's history across college, professional, and international basketball.
Purple (NFL Teams, With The Second Letter Changed): BOARS, BULLS, GRANTS, RIMS
BULLS, BOARS, GRANTS, and RIMS are NFL TEAMS, WITH THE SECOND LETTER CHANGED. Restore that letter and they become BILLS, BEARS, GIANTS, and RAMS, respectively.
BULLS and RIMS provide a basketball disguise, one as a team name and the other as equipment. GRANTS adds a separate language trap by looking at home beside ALLOWS.
The Verdict
Yellow is the clearest starting point, provided GRANTS doesn't pull you away from the stronger verb set. Green offers the next foothold once you read COWBOYS through Oklahoma State rather than Dallas.
The real trap is the apparent NBA cluster of BULLS, THUNDER, PACERS, and KINGS. Those names cross three answer groups, so a sound sports association still produces the wrong set.
Blue is the toughest knowledge check because CYCLONES and USA demand a broader view of Haliburton's career. Purple is the streak test for wordplay: spotting BULLS becoming BILLS gives you a concrete rule to test against the rest.
Reset and Repeat
Today's standout is the second-letter switch, especially the way BULLS hides in plain sight as a basketball name. Bring that habit of checking both meaning and spelling back tomorrow for a fresh grid.
For now, puzzle #748 is solved. See you at midnight for the next round.
