Mystery Player #5
Friday, July 10, 2026 · already played
The answer
Spoiler for the puzzle of Friday, July 10, 2026. Today's puzzle is not revealed anywhere on this page.
Lionel Hollins
G · 1975–1985
Lionel Hollins's career
Lionel Hollins played 10 seasons between 1975 and 1985, across 5 franchises — Trail Blazers, 76ers, Clippers, Pistons and Rockets. Over 673 regular-season games he averaged 11.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists, finishing with 7,809 career points. He was 1× All-Star and 1× champion.
He entered the league in the 1975 draft, taken 6th overall in the lottery. That makes him a product of the 1970s, and his career totals should be read against the pace and rules of that period.
Across a solid career of 10 seasons he was a rotation piece at 11.6 points per game.
- Games
- 673
- PPG
- 11.6
- RPG
- 2.4
- APG
- 4.5
- Points
- 7,809
- Rebounds
- 1,601
- Assists
- 3,006
- 3PM
- 13
Teams
- Trail Blazers · 1976–1980
- 76ers · 1980–1982
- Clippers · 1983
- Pistons · 1984
- Rockets · 1985
Honours
1× All-Star · 2× All-Defensive · 1× NBA champion
How the clues read
Every guess that day was scored against Lionel Hollins across nine categories. These were the values behind the grid.
- Position:
- G
- Debut season:
- 1975
- Status:
- Retired
- Nationality:
- USA
- Teams:
- Trail Blazers, 76ers, Clippers, Pistons, Rockets
- Points per game:
- 11.6
- Championships:
- 1
- All-Star selections:
- 1
Why this was a fair answer
Answers are never obscure by design: the pool is every NBA All-Star who debuted in the 1969-70 season or later, plus current players carrying a real scoring role. Lionel Hollins qualifies on the first route, with 1 All-Star selection — a one-time selection.
With 5 franchises on his record, the shared-team clue was unusually generous here — a wide range of guesses would have lit it up green and pointed the wrong way as often as the right one. The debut arrow was the fastest way in: anyone opening with a modern player would have been sent back decades immediately. The 1 championship ring were another strong signal — most of the pool has none.
Play it yourself
This puzzle is still replayable — open Mystery Player #5 in the archive to play the round exactly as it was, or start today's puzzle. Archive rounds never affect your daily streak.