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NBA Wordle #44

Tuesday, August 18, 2026 · already played

The answer

Spoiler for the puzzle of Tuesday, August 18, 2026. Today's puzzle is not revealed anywhere on this page.

Butch Beard

BEARD

Butch Beard

G · 1969–1979

Butch Beard's career

Butch Beard played 10 seasons between 1969 and 1979, across 5 franchises — Hawks, Cavaliers, Thunder, Warriors and Knicks. Over 605 regular-season games he averaged 9.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists, finishing with 5,622 career points. He was 1× All-Star and 1× champion.

He entered the league in the 1969 draft, taken 10th overall in the lottery. That makes him a product of the 1960s, 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 9.3 points per game.

Games
605
PPG
9.3
RPG
3.4
APG
3.6
Points
5,622
Rebounds
2,042
Assists
2,189
3PM
0

Teams

  • Hawks · 1970
  • Cavaliers · 1972
  • Thunder · 1973
  • Warriors · 1974–1975
  • Cavaliers · 1976
  • Knicks · 1976–1979

Honours

1× All-Star · 1× NBA champion

About the answer

The answer was BEARD 5 letters, made up of 5 distinct letters and beginning with B.

The optional hint offered that day read: “9.3 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. Butch Beard 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

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