Working through Connections: Sports Edition #757? Choose the smallest nudge you need: a gentle clue, a stronger group hint, or two words from one color. Open the complete answers and explanations only when you want to check the solution.
This independent guide covers The Athletic's October 20, 2026 edition. Compare the game title and puzzle date with your board before reading further.
Start with a gentle clue. Two-word hints, answers and explanations stay hidden until you open them.
Playing the regular word puzzle? Regular Connections guide — a different puzzle
Gentle Hints for Puzzle #757
Try one clue for the group you are working on. You do not need to read all four.
- Yellow
The offense tries; the defense intervenes.
- Green
One affiliation connects these campuses.
- Blue
Think of throwing arms and one franchise's record book.
- Purple
One person's story connects four different kinds of clue.
Stronger Group Hints
These clues narrow the theme without listing the four words. Stop here if a theme clicks.
- Yellow
Four verbs can describe a defender stopping an attempted basket.
- Green
Read four place names as universities sharing a western U.S. college athletics conference.
- Blue
Four surnames belong to quarterbacks prominent in San Francisco's passing history.
- Purple
Match a jersey number, an NBA city, a college and a statistical achievement to one guard.
Two-Word Hints — Partial Answers
Still stuck on one color? Reveal two words that belong together in that group. This gives away part of the answer, so open only the color you need.
Yellow Reveal 2 words Hide words Spoiler
- BLOCKS
- STUFFS
These two belong together. Look for two more tiles that share their connection.
Green Reveal 2 words Hide words Spoiler
- WYOMING
- NEVADA
These two belong together. Look for two more tiles that share their connection.
Blue Reveal 2 words Hide words Spoiler
- MONTANA
- BRODIE
These two belong together. Look for two more tiles that share their connection.
Purple Reveal 2 words Hide words Spoiler
- 0
- OKLAHOMA CITY
These two belong together. Look for two more tiles that share their connection.
Connections Sports Answers for October 20, 2026
Ready to check your solution? Opening this panel reveals all four category names and all 16 words for #757.
Reveal all four answer groups for #757
Yellow
REJECTS A SHOT
- BLOCKS
- STUFFS
- SWATS
- DENIES
Green
MOUNTAIN WEST SCHOOLS
- WYOMING
- NEVADA
- HAWAII
- NEW MEXICO
Blue
49ERS CAREER PASSING LEADERS
- MONTANA
- BRODIE
- YOUNG
- GARCIA
Purple
ASSOCIATED WITH RUSSELL WESTBROOK
- 0
- OKLAHOMA CITY
- UCLA
- TRIPLE-DOUBLES
Why These Groups Work
This section explains each word and a possible wrong turn. It contains spoilers even if the answer panel above is closed.
Reveal the explanations and possible traps
Yellow
REJECTS A SHOT
Each word can describe a defender rejecting a basketball shot. BLOCKS is the straightforward term; STUFFS, SWATS and DENIES give other ways to describe the same kind of defensive stop. Read the tiles as verbs about an attempted basket rather than as four separate statistics.
How each word fits
- BLOCKS
-
Stops or deflects an opponent's attempted shot with a block.
- STUFFS
-
An emphatic way to say a defender blocks a shot.
- SWATS
-
Knocks an attempted shot away, as a shot blocker might.
- DENIES
-
Rejects the scoring attempt; the object understood here is the shot.
Green
MOUNTAIN WEST SCHOOLS
The tiles stand for the University of Wyoming, the University of Nevada, Reno, the University of Hawai'i at Manoa and the University of New Mexico. All four belong to the Mountain West in its 2026-27 alignment. The conference connection is more precise than simply grouping western place names.
How each word fits
- WYOMING
-
The University of Wyoming, listed among the Mountain West's 2026-27 members.
- NEVADA
-
The University of Nevada, Reno, rather than UNLV, which is a separate institution.
- HAWAII
-
The University of Hawai'i at Manoa, a full Mountain West member in the 2026-27 alignment.
- NEW MEXICO
-
The University of New Mexico, another member of the same conference.
Blue
49ERS CAREER PASSING LEADERS
Expand the tiles to Joe Montana, John Brodie, Steve Young and Jeff Garcia. Each is a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback with a substantial place in the franchise's career passing records. Read the surnames through that team connection, rather than their ordinary meanings or the players' college teams.
How each word fits
- MONTANA
-
Joe Montana, a former 49ers quarterback and a franchise career passing leader.
- BRODIE
-
John Brodie, a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback in the team's career passing records.
- YOUNG
-
Steve Young, a former 49ers quarterback and one of the franchise's career passing leaders.
- GARCIA
-
Jeff Garcia, a former 49ers quarterback among the team's career passing leaders.
Purple
ASSOCIATED WITH RUSSELL WESTBROOK
These tiles point to Russell Westbrook through different parts of his basketball history. The number is a jersey association, the city identifies a former NBA team, UCLA supplies the college link and TRIPLE-DOUBLES supplies the statistical connection. The group is a portrait of one player, so the four clues need not all be teams, places or numbers.
How each word fits
- 0
-
The jersey number Westbrook wore at UCLA and during his time with Oklahoma City.
- OKLAHOMA CITY
-
The NBA city where Westbrook played for the Thunder.
- UCLA
-
The university where Westbrook played college basketball before entering the NBA.
- TRIPLE-DOUBLES
-
Double figures in three statistical categories in one game. Westbrook recorded 42 in the 2016-17 regular season.
Connections Sports Edition FAQ
Which puzzle is covered by these hints?
The Athletic's Connections: Sports Edition for October 20, 2026, puzzle #757. Check the date as well as the game name before matching these clues to your tiles.
How can I get help without seeing the whole solution?
Read one gentle hint first, then try that color's stronger group clue. If you need a smaller reveal than the complete answers, open only that color's two-word panel. Full answers and explanations have their own closed panels.
Do the player clues all describe a current team or jersey?
No. A career association can refer to a past team, a college or a previously worn jersey number. The explanations identify those historical links instead of treating every clue as a claim about a current roster.
Does NEVADA mean UNLV in this group?
No. NEVADA here means the University of Nevada, Reno. UNLV is the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a separate institution. Read the tile as Reno's university rather than treating the two schools as interchangeable.
Can I use these groups for the regular NYT Connections puzzle?
Sports Edition is a separate puzzle with its own board and numbering. Use the regular Connections guide for that game's answers, and use The Athletic's official Sports Edition page to play this edition.
Why is MONTANA outside the schools group?
The state-name reading is a distraction. In this puzzle, MONTANA identifies former 49ers quarterback Joe Montana and belongs with BRODIE, YOUNG and GARCIA in the passing-leaders group.
Sources and Verification
Official puzzle data and references for this edition.
View the sources used for this edition
The four category titles and all 16 tiles were compared with The Athletic's official puzzle data for October 20, 2026. Conference membership, quarterback identities and the historical player associations were checked against official conference, team, university and league sources. The hints and explanations are original to this guide. Source checking does not mean the game was completed here.
- The Athletic - official Connections: Sports Edition
- Mountain West - 2026-27 men's basketball membership and schedule
- Mountain West - new membership era beginning July 1, 2026
- San Francisco 49ers - franchise career passing totals
- UCLA - Russell Westbrook's archived college biography and No. 0
- NBA - historical 2018 All-Star roster listing Westbrook's No. 0 and Oklahoma City
- NBA and Oklahoma City Thunder - Westbrook's 2016-17 triple-double season
Connections Solved is an independent guide and is not affiliated with The Athletic or The New York Times.