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NYT Connections Sports Edition · #715

NYT Connections Sports Edition Hints & Answers (#715) — September 8, 2026

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Earlier Sep 7 This puzzle Sep 8 Later Sep 9

“Before you lock in any group, read every word letter by letter from the end — at least four of them are concealing something inside their final letters.WINGS has appeared three times in recent puzzles — in Connections #689 (Aug 13, 2026) as part of NBA team name wordplay, and in Connections #680 (Aug 4, 2026) among NHL team name components. Today it plays a completely different role. JAYHAWKS also appeared recently in Connections #658 (Jul 13, 2026) as part of Kansas-based teams — but today the puzzle is using it very differently.”

NYT Sports Connections hints for September 8, 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 10The iconic shirt number Pelé wore and made synonymous with the game's greatest player.
2 BOOKINGSReservations or soccer cards on the surface; KINGS (Sacramento) hiding at the end.
3 BRAZILThe national team Pelé led to three World Cup titles.
4 COSMOSNot the universe — the New York NASL club Pelé joined to popularize soccer in the US.
5 COWBOYSAmerica's Team, the NFL's most valuable franchise, based in Arlington.
6 JAYHAWKSKansas's college mascot on the surface; HAWKS (Atlanta) hiding at the end.
7 LANDRYWon Super Bowls VI and XII with the Dallas Cowboys across two decades.
8 LOMBARDIWon the first two Super Bowls with Green Bay — the trophy now bears his name.
9 MAVERICKSThe NBA team Dirk Nowitzki made famous — and Luka Dončić after him.
10 NOLLThe winningest of the group — four Super Bowl titles with the Steelers.
11 PARCELLSWon back-to-back Super Bowls with the New York Giants in 1987 and 1991.
12 PLANETSCelestial bodies on the surface; NETS (Brooklyn) hiding at the end.
13 SANTOSThe Brazilian club where Pelé spent the bulk of his career.
14 STARSThe NHL franchise that brought the Stanley Cup to Dallas in 1999.
15 WHEATA grain on the surface; HEAT (Miami) hiding at the end — just drop the W.
16 WINGSLooks like a hockey reference; it's actually the Dallas WNBA team.
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 Four franchises that share a home market in north Texas.
See Group DFW TEAMS
See WordSTARS
See WordMAVERICKS
See WordCOWBOYS
See WordWINGS
See Hint Each of these sideline bosses earned that silver trophy more than once.
See Group COACHES TO WIN MULTIPLE SUPER BOWLS
See WordLOMBARDI
See WordLANDRY
See WordPARCELLS
See WordNOLL
See Hint A legend left his mark on all four of these.
See Group ASSOCIATED WITH PELÉ
See WordBRAZIL
See WordSANTOS
See WordCOSMOS
See Word10
See Hint Each word is a Trojan horse — something from the hardwood is smuggled inside.
See Group ENDS IN AN NBA TEAM
See WordPLANETS
See WordJAYHAWKS
See WordWHEAT
See WordBOOKINGS
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 PLANETS Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably picturing the solar system — but the puzzle isn't interested in astronomy. Read the last four letters and you'll find a basketball team hiding there.
2 WHEAT Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably reading it as a grain or crop, but the puzzle is using it as a container — the last four letters spell out an NBA team's name.
3 COSMOS Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably thinking of the universe or a cocktail, but here it's a specific soccer club — one Pelé famously joined late in his career.
4 WINGS Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably thinking of hockey's Red Wings or the body part — but the puzzle is using it as a team name in a completely different league than you'd expect.
5 BOOKINGS Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably reading it as reservations or soccer yellow cards — but the puzzle wants you to look at the last five letters, where an NBA team is hiding.

NYT Sports Connections answers for September 8, 2026

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

Y DFW TEAMS · Yellow · easiest
  • STARS
  • MAVERICKS
  • COWBOYS
  • WINGS

STARS, MAVERICKS, COWBOYS and WINGS are all professional sports teams based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The WINGS is the sneakiest — it's the WNBA entry in a list otherwise dominated by the NHL, NBA and NFL.

G COACHES TO WIN MULTIPLE SUPER BOWLS · Green · easy
  • LOMBARDI
  • LANDRY
  • PARCELLS
  • NOLL

LOMBARDI, LANDRY, PARCELLS and NOLL are all NFL head coaches who won multiple Super Bowls. Chuck Noll is the record holder — he won four Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s, more than anyone else in history.

B ASSOCIATED WITH PELÉ · Blue · medium
  • BRAZIL
  • SANTOS
  • COSMOS
  • 10

BRAZIL, SANTOS, COSMOS and 10 are all closely associated with Pelé. COSMOS is the trickiest — it's the New York club Pelé joined in 1975, which many solvers might not place immediately alongside his Brazilian career.

P ENDS IN AN NBA TEAM · Purple · hardest
  • PLANETS
  • JAYHAWKS
  • WHEAT
  • BOOKINGS

PLANETS, JAYHAWKS, WHEAT and BOOKINGS each end with an NBA team name: NETS, HAWKS, HEAT and KINGS respectively. WHEAT is the most disorienting — nothing about a grain signals Miami basketball until you drop the opening letter and the rest snaps into place.

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