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Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one, with four logos in place of words. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.
 NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta
Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Make a plan.
Green group hint: Rainbow.
Blue group hint: All hail the king.
Purple group hint: One pride.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: X’s and O’s
Green group: Teams with colorful nicknames
Blue group: LeBron James teams
Purple group: Members of the Detroit Lions.
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What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The completed NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Dec. 20, 2025.
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is X’s and O’s. The four answers are playbook, scheme, strategy and tactic.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is teams with colorful nicknames. The four answers are Alabama, Columbus, Texas Tech and Tulane.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is LeBron James teams. The four answers are Cleveland, Los Angeles, Miami and St. Vincent-St. Mary.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is members of the Detroit Lions. The four answers are Branch, Montgomery, Reader and St. Brown.
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