Mystery Player #80
Wednesday, September 23, 2026 · already played
The answer
Spoiler for the puzzle of Wednesday, September 23, 2026. Today's puzzle is not revealed anywhere on this page.
Jeff Ruland
C-F · 1981–1993
Jeff Ruland's career
Jeff Ruland played 12 seasons between 1981 and 1993, across 3 franchises — Wizards, 76ers and Pistons. Over 332 regular-season games he averaged 17.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and 3 assists, finishing with 5,763 career points. He was 1× All-Star.
He entered the league in the 1980 draft, taken 25th overall in the first round. 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 12 seasons he was a consistent starter at 17.4 points per game. On the glass he was among the players a team could build a defence around.
- Games
- 332
- PPG
- 17.4
- RPG
- 10.2
- APG
- 3
- Points
- 5,763
- Rebounds
- 3,378
- Assists
- 1,002
- 3PM
- 3
Teams
- Wizards · 1982–1986
- 76ers · 1987
- 76ers · 1992
- Pistons · 1993
Honours
1× All-Star
How the clues read
Every guess that day was scored against Jeff Ruland across nine categories. These were the values behind the grid.
- Position:
- C-F
- Debut season:
- 1981
- Status:
- Retired
- Nationality:
- USA
- Teams:
- Wizards, 76ers, 76ers, Pistons
- Points per game:
- 17.4
- Championships:
- 0
- 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. Jeff Ruland qualifies on the first route, with 1 All-Star selection — a one-time selection.
With 3 franchises on his record, the shared-team clue was a genuine filter rather than a giveaway. 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 #80 in the archive to play the round exactly as it was, or start today's puzzle. Archive rounds never affect your daily streak.
Recent Mystery Player answers
See the full Mystery Player archive for every puzzle played so far.