NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle #545, published Sunday, March 22, 2026, asks players to sort 16 sports-related words into four groups of four. Below are progressive hints, followed by the category names and complete answer key. This is the Sports Edition puzzle, not the regular Connections puzzle published that day.
Hints for the March 22, 2026 puzzle
Stop here if you want a nudge without seeing the full solution. The published hints move from broad clues toward the four category ideas:
- Same-same.
- Otto, Anna.
- He ain’t heavy…
- The DMZ is one.
Each clue points to one group, in the order shown below.
How Sports Edition Connections works
The board contains 16 entries, and the goal is to sort them into four groups of four based on a shared connection. The New York Times’ instruction, reproduced by Parade, is to “group sports terms that share a common thread.” Sports Edition is a sports-focused partnership between The New York Times and The Athletic, as Parade describes it.
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Answers for puzzle #545
The grid entries are CURRY, STATS, EVEN, POP, TIED, RED, NEUTRAL, RADAR, BALL, 2-3, LEVEL, KAYAK, DEADLOCKED, ANTETOKOUNMPO, STRIKE, and GASOL. The category labels and groupings are:
- ALL SQUARE: DEADLOCKED, EVEN, LEVEL, TIED. Each describes a tied or even contest or score.
- PALINDROMES: KAYAK, POP, RADAR, STATS. Each word reads the same forward and backward.
- NBA BROTHERS, PAST AND PRESENT: ANTETOKOUNMPO, BALL, CURRY, GASOL. Each is a surname associated with NBA brothers.
- ____ ZONE: 2-3, NEUTRAL, RED, STRIKE. Each completes a sports-related phrase with “zone.”
The grid and groups are also listed in Technobezz’s March 22 guide, which independently matches this answer key.
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