Today's NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints, Answers for March 6, #164

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Connections: Sports Edition might be tough today. One category involves a basketball league that’s quite new, and that even a devoted sports fan might not know about. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it 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: Two points!

Green group hint: Muhammad Ali.

Blue group hint: Hoops teams.

Purple group hint: Throw it.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Knock down a shot.

Green group: “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”

Blue group: Teams in Unrivaled.

Purple group: Ball ____.

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 knock down a shot. The four answers are drain, drill, make and swish.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” The four answers are bee, butterfly, float and sting.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is teams in Unrivaled. The four answers are Laces, Lunar Owls, Mist and Vinyl.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ball ____. The four answers are boy, club, hawk and marker.