Mystery Player #71
Monday, September 14, 2026 · already played
The answer
Spoiler for the puzzle of Monday, September 14, 2026. Today's puzzle is not revealed anywhere on this page.
Tim Hardaway
G · 1989–2003
Tim Hardaway's career
Tim Hardaway played 14 seasons between 1989 and 2003, across 5 franchises — Warriors, Heat, Mavericks, Nuggets and Pacers. Over 867 regular-season games he averaged 17.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 8.2 assists, finishing with 15,373 career points. He was 5× All-Star and 5× All-NBA.
He entered the league in the 1989 draft, taken 14th overall in the lottery. That makes him a product of the 1980s, and his career totals should be read against the pace and rules of that period.
Across a long career of 14 seasons he was a consistent starter at 17.7 points per game. He was a genuine playmaker, not just a finisher.
- Games
- 867
- PPG
- 17.7
- RPG
- 3.3
- APG
- 8.2
- Points
- 15,373
- Rebounds
- 2,855
- Assists
- 7,095
- 3PM
- 1,542
Teams
- Warriors · 1990–1993
- Warriors · 1995–1996
- Heat · 1996–2001
- Mavericks · 2002
- Nuggets · 2002
- Pacers · 2003
Honours
5× All-Star · 5× All-NBA · 1× Olympic gold
How the clues read
Every guess that day was scored against Tim Hardaway across nine categories. These were the values behind the grid.
- Position:
- G
- Debut season:
- 1989
- Status:
- Retired
- Nationality:
- USA
- Teams:
- Warriors, Warriors, Heat, Mavericks, Nuggets, Pacers
- Points per game:
- 17.7
- Championships:
- 0
- All-Star selections:
- 5
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. Tim Hardaway qualifies on the first route, with 5 All-Star selections — a repeat 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. He never won a title, which quietly rules out a large share of the most-guessed names.
Play it yourself
This puzzle is still replayable — open Mystery Player #71 in the archive to play the round exactly as it was, or start today's puzzle. Archive rounds never affect your daily streak.