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NYT Connections Sports Edition · #705

NYT Connections Sports Edition Hints & Answers (#705) — August 29, 2026

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“Lock in the group you are most certain about first, then use those four words as anchors to stop the rest of the grid from shifting on you.HOOK and LEAGUE both carry history. HOOK appeared in Connections #671 (Jul 26, 2026) as part of fishing equipment. LEAGUE appeared in Connections #684 (Aug 8, 2026) in a Little League World Series context. Neither plays that role today.”

NYT Sports Connections hints for August 29, 2026

Three levels of help — a definition for every word, colour-coded group nudges, and a heads-up on the traps. Skip to all answers →

1

Word clues

A spoiler-free definition for every word in the grid. Tap the eye on any card to reveal which colour-group it belongs to.

1 ADMIRALDavid Robinson's nickname, earned because he served in the U.S. Navy before his NBA career.
2 BIG ARISTOTLEShaquille O'Neal's self-given philosophical nickname — one of several he invented for himself.
3 BIG DIPPERWilt Chamberlain's nickname — he reportedly disliked 'Wilt the Stilt' and preferred this one.
4 CROSSReads as angry or religious, but here it's the straight rear-hand punch in boxing.
5 DREAMHakeem Olajuwon's nickname, a nod to his move to Houston and his famously fluid post game.
6 FISKCarlton Fisk, whose Hall of Fame plaque reads Red Sox but whose longest tenure was on the South Side.
7 FOOTBALLAmerican Football — looks like it might pair with LEAGUE structurally, but both independently complete the same phrase.
8 FOXNellie Fox, White Sox second baseman and 1959 AL MVP — not a nickname or an animal.
9 HOOKLooks like fishing gear; in boxing it's a punch thrown in a tight, curving arc.
10 JABThe quickest, most unambiguous boxing punch in the group — a fast lead-hand strike.
11 LEAGUEAmerican League — one half of Major League Baseball, not a standalone sports category here.
12 MIÑOSOMinnie Miñoso, the beloved 'Cuban Comet' and a cornerstone of White Sox history.
13 NINJA WARRIORAmerican Ninja Warrior, the obstacle-course competition show — the longest entry in the group.
14 PHAROAHAmerican Pharoah, the 2015 Triple Crown winner — note the intentional one-'a' spelling in the horse's name.
15 THOMASFrank Thomas, 'The Big Hurt,' a two-time AL MVP who spent his prime entirely in Chicago.
16 UPPERCUTThe upward-driving punch aimed at the chin — no competing meaning to trip you up.
2

Group hints

Four colour-coded groups, easiest → hardest. Every button reveals the hint, the category name, or a single word — tap only what you need.

See Hint Every fighter in the gym throws these four.
See Group BOXING TERMS
See WordCROSS
See WordHOOK
See WordJAB
See WordUPPERCUT
See Hint Four giants of the paint, each known by a nickname that starts with 'The.'
See Group NICKNAMES OF HALL OF FAME CENTERS, WITH "THE"
See WordADMIRAL
See WordBIG DIPPER
See WordDREAM
See WordBIG ARISTOTLE
See Hint South Side legends whose plaques live in Cooperstown.
See Group WHITE SOX IN THE HALL OF FAME
See WordFOX
See WordMIÑOSO
See WordFISK
See WordTHOMAS
See Hint Two words and two phrases that one adjective completes.
See Group AMERICAN _____
See WordLEAGUE
See WordPHAROAH
See WordNINJA WARRIOR
See WordFOOTBALL
3

Words the puzzle wants you to mis-group

Read these before you guess — they're the words most likely to break a streak. Tap for the trap.

1 HOOK Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably picturing a fishing hook or a captain's prosthetic — but here it's a punch thrown in a curved arc, a core boxing term.
2 CROSS Tap to see why this word traps.
You're likely reading it as an adjective meaning angry, or a religious symbol, but the puzzle is using it as a boxing term for a specific rear-hand punch.
3 FOX Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably thinking of an animal or a sly character — but here it's a surname belonging to a specific baseball Hall of Famer.
4 DREAM Tap to see why this word traps.
You're likely reading it as an aspiration or a sleeping vision, but the puzzle is using it as a basketball nickname, not an abstract concept.
5 LEAGUE Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably treating it as a standalone sports-structure word, but the puzzle is using it as part of a longer phrase built around a single completing word.

NYT Sports Connections answers for August 29, 2026

All four groups revealed, easiest first. Each card holds the theme, the four words, and why the group works.

Y BOXING TERMS · Yellow · easiest
  • CROSS
  • HOOK
  • JAB
  • UPPERCUT

CROSS, HOOK, JAB and UPPERCUT are all punches in boxing. The JAB is the quickest tell — it's pure boxing vocabulary with almost no competing meaning, making it the anchor for the whole group.

G NICKNAMES OF HALL OF FAME CENTERS, WITH "THE" · Green · easy
  • ADMIRAL
  • BIG DIPPER
  • DREAM
  • BIG ARISTOTLE

ADMIRAL, BIG DIPPER, DREAM and BIG ARISTOTLE are all 'The ___' nicknames for Hall of Fame NBA centers — David Robinson, Wilt Chamberlain, Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O'Neal respectively. BIG ARISTOTLE is the deepest cut: Shaq coined it himself as a nod to his self-styled philosophy.

B WHITE SOX IN THE HALL OF FAME · Blue · medium
  • FOX
  • MIÑOSO
  • FISK
  • THOMAS

FOX, MIÑOSO, FISK and THOMAS are all players enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame who spent significant time with the Chicago White Sox. FISK is the trickiest placement — his Hall of Fame plaque designates him as a Red Sox player, famous for his iconic 1975 World Series moment in Boston, yet he is strongly associated with the White Sox through the back half of his career.

P AMERICAN _____ · Purple · hardest
  • LEAGUE
  • PHAROAH
  • NINJA WARRIOR
  • FOOTBALL

LEAGUE, PHAROAH, NINJA WARRIOR and FOOTBALL all follow the word 'American' — American League, American Pharoah, American Ninja Warrior and American Football. PHAROAH is the hardest: American Pharoah was the 2015 Triple Crown winner, and the unusual spelling (one 'a') is the horse's registered name.

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