Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints, Answers for March 22 #545

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.

For today’s Connections: Sports Edition, the purple category came to me right away, and it’s usually the toughest. I also got a kick out of the green category. 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: Same-same.

Green group hint: Otto, Anna.

Blue group hint: He ain’t heavy…

Purple group hint: The DMZ is one.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: All square.

Green group: Palindromes.

Blue group: NBA brothers, past and present.

Purple group: ____ zone.

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 all square. The four answers are deadlocked, even, level and tied.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is palindromes. The four answers are kayak, pop, radar and stats.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is NBA brothers, past and present. The four answers are Antetokounmpo, Ball, Curry and Gasol.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ zone. The four answers are 2-3, neutral, red and strike.