Sports Connections hints for Friday, July 17, 2026 (#662)
By SportsMonkie Sports Desk · Spoiler-free — the answers live on their own page
Stuck on today's NYT Connections Sports Edition, puzzle #662? Reveal one hint at a time below — start with a single-word nudge for each group and only open the next tier if you still need it. Nothing here gives the full answer away.
Today's puzzle (#662) has four groups. Reveal exactly as much as you need — a nudge, then the category names, then the first letters. The full answers stay on their own page so you don't spoil it by accident.
Hint 1 — a one-word nudge for each group
- Tier 1 National teams
- Tier 2 Player nicknames
- Tier 3 A person: LUKA DONČIĆ
- Tier 4 Look at the words themselves
Hint 2 — the four category names
- Easiest FIRST-TIMERS IN 2026 WORLD CUP
- Easy NICKNAMES OF 2000S BASKETBALL STARS
- Tricky ASSOCIATED WITH LUKA DONČIĆ
- Hardest THINGS THAT HAVE STRINGS
Hint 3 — first letters of every answer
FIRST-TIMERS IN 2026 WORLD CUP: J. · C. · C. V. · U.
NICKNAMES OF 2000S BASKETBALL STARS: A. · S. · B. T. · T.
ASSOCIATED WITH LUKA DONČIĆ: S. · L. · 7. · M.
THINGS THAT HAVE STRINGS: D. C. · B. · T. R. · L. S.
Still stuck? See the full answers for #662, explained group by group →
Today's grid leaned on these sports — go deeper on SportsMonkie:
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