The Thursday edition of NYT Connections Sports Edition arrives with puzzle #780, serving up a grid that tests court knowledge, touchline recognition and your willingness to read a clue as something incomplete.
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 #780:
SNOW | SUN | ORANGE | ROSE
BILLS | EMERY | SKATE | SABRES
SURF | ROCKET | MOYES | WARRIOR
WAKE | LAKER | LAMPARD | LIBERTY
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Think about the labels an individual competitor can inherit from an affiliation.
Green Category Clue: A map can reveal a connection that the playing surface cannot.
Blue Category Hint: Look beyond the athletes to the people directing play.
Purple Category Teaser: Try extending the entries instead of treating each as a complete thought.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (A Western Conference NBA Player): LAKER, ROCKET, SUN, WARRIOR
SUN, LAKER, WARRIOR and ROCKET each describe a player through his team affiliation. The singular wording matters: the category asks for a Western Conference NBA player.
Green (Teams In New York State): BILLS, LIBERTY, ORANGE, SABRES
ORANGE, SABRES, LIBERTY and BILLS belong together as teams in New York State. Geography supplies the link across their different sporting identities.
LIBERTY creates a basketball distraction beside SUN, LAKER, WARRIOR and ROCKET. The New York Liberty play in the WNBA, so a broad basketball connection needs a tighter rule before you commit.
Blue (Premier League Managers): EMERY, LAMPARD, MOYES, ROSE
EMERY, ROSE, LAMPARD and MOYES form the supplied Premier League managers group. This is the surname recognition test, with all four entries read as names.
Purple (_____Board): SKATE, SNOW, SURF, WAKE
SURF, SKATE, WAKE and SNOW each take BOARD after them, producing surfboard, skateboard, wakeboard and snowboard. The shared ending turns four separate entries into equipment names.
The Verdict
Yellow looks like the cleanest opening if NBA affiliations come readily to mind. The trap is letting LIBERTY stretch that precise connection into a loose collection of basketball associations.
Green rewards a geographic reset, while purple becomes tidy once BOARD clicks into place. Blue is my pick for the streak decider because recognizing a surname group still leaves you needing confidence in every entry.
Reset and Repeat
Carry today's BOARD trick into tomorrow's grid: a short entry can be the beginning of a longer word. Come back for another round with fresh eyes and room to change your first reading.
For now, puzzle #780 is solved. See you at midnight for the next round.