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Today's Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. Let's hope you know a lot about a certain NBA player. 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.

Read more: 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: Somebody has to win!

Green group hint: Gridiron strategy.

Blue group hint: Certain bird.

Purple group hint: A hoops star.

Answers for today's Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Used to break a tie.

Green group: Offensive formations in football.

Blue group: Cardinals.

Purple group: Associated with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today's Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today's Connections

The theme is used to break a tie. The four answers are extra end, extra innings, overtime and shootout.

The green words in today's Connections

The theme is offensive formations in football. The four answers are I, shotgun, wildcat and wishbone.

The blue words in today's Connections

The theme is cardinals. The four answers are Arizona, Ball State, Louisville and St. Louis.

The purple words in today's Connections

The theme is associated with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The four answers are 2, Kentucky, MVP and Thunder.