NBA Wordle #9
Tuesday, July 14, 2026 · already played
The answer
Spoiler for the puzzle of Tuesday, July 14, 2026. Today's puzzle is not revealed anywhere on this page.
CARROLL
Joe Barry Carroll
C · 1980–1991
Joe Barry Carroll's career
Joe Barry Carroll played 11 seasons between 1980 and 1991, across 5 franchises — Warriors, Rockets, Nets, Nuggets and Suns. Over 705 regular-season games he averaged 17.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists, finishing with 12,455 career points. He was 1× All-Star.
He entered the league in the 1980 draft, taken first overall, with everything that expectation carries. 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 solid career of 11 seasons he was a consistent starter at 17.7 points per game.
- Games
- 705
- PPG
- 17.7
- RPG
- 7.7
- APG
- 1.8
- Points
- 12,455
- Rebounds
- 5,404
- Assists
- 1,264
- 3PM
- 0
Teams
- Warriors · 1981–1984
- Warriors · 1986–1988
- Rockets · 1988
- Nets · 1989–1990
- Nuggets · 1990
- Suns · 1991
Honours
1× All-Star
About the answer
The answer was CARROLL — 7 letters, made up of 5 distinct letters and beginning with C.
The optional hint offered that day read: “Played for GSW 1981–84, GSW 1986–88, HOU 1988, BKN 1989–90, …”.
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. Joe Barry Carroll 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. He never won a title, which quietly rules out a large share of the most-guessed names.
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