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.

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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