Connections: Sports Edition puzzle No. 618 for June 3, 2026 had a difficulty rating of 2.5 out of 5 and featured four categories that players needed to identify from 16 words on the board. The game is part of The Athletic’s daily puzzle lineup and asks players to sort words into four groups of four based on a shared theme, with only one correct solution and up to four mistakes allowed before the puzzle is lost.
The hints for today’s board pointed to the following categories: Yellow was “STUFF,” Green was “LAKERS,” Blue was “DEUCE,” and Purple was “ECF MVP.” These clues guided players toward the final groupings and reflected the puzzle’s mix of straightforward and more specialized sports references.
The full answers for June 3, 2026 were: Yellow, “Dunking synonyms,” with DUNK, JAM, SLAM, and STUFF; Green, “Teams with 5+ NBA titles,” with BULLS, CELTICS, LAKERS, and SPURS; Blue, “Nicknames of players in the NBA Finals,” with DEUCE, KAT, SWIPA, and WEMBY; and Purple, “Associated with Jalen Brunson,” with 11, ECF MVP, KNICKS, and VILLANOVA.
Connections: Sports Edition is The Athletic’s first original game and is designed to test pattern recognition, sports knowledge, and word association. Each day’s puzzle uses a color system to show difficulty, ranging from yellow as the easiest to purple as the hardest. The game has one unique solution, so some words may appear to fit more than one category at first glance.
The article also explains that players can access the game daily, with each new puzzle becoming available at midnight in their local time zone. It invites readers to compare scores and discuss results after playing.
Created by Mark Cooper, who serves as managing editor for college sports at The Athletic, the puzzle continues to blend sports trivia with the familiar Connections format. The June 3 edition leaned on NBA themes, including championship teams, player nicknames, and Jalen Brunson-related clues, making it especially appealing to basketball fans following the NBA Finals.
