NBA Wordle #41
Saturday, August 15, 2026 · already played
The answer
Spoiler for the puzzle of Saturday, August 15, 2026. Today's puzzle is not revealed anywhere on this page.
ISSEL
Dan Issel
C · 1976–1985
Dan Issel's career
Dan Issel played 9 seasons between 1976 and 1985, all of it with the Nuggets. Over 718 regular-season games he averaged 20.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists, finishing with 14,659 career points. He was 1× All-Star.
He entered the league in the 1970 draft, taken 122th overall in the second round, well outside the picks that carry guarantees. 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 9 seasons he was a primary scoring option at 20.4 points per game.
- Games
- 718
- PPG
- 20.4
- RPG
- 7.9
- APG
- 2.5
- Points
- 14,659
- Rebounds
- 5,707
- Assists
- 1,804
- 3PM
- 19
Teams
- Nuggets · 1977–1985
Honours
1× All-Star
About the answer
The answer was ISSEL — 5 letters, made up of 4 distinct letters and beginning with I.
The optional hint offered that day read: “20.4 career PPG · 1× All-Star”.
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. Dan Issel qualifies on the first route, with 1 All-Star selection — a one-time selection.
A one-franchise career made the shared-team clue brutal: it stayed grey for almost every guess, and went green only for players from that same roster. 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 NBA Wordle #41 in the archive to play the round exactly as it was, or start today's puzzle. Archive rounds never affect your daily streak.