NBA Wordle #72
Tuesday, September 15, 2026 · already played
The answer
Spoiler for the puzzle of Tuesday, September 15, 2026. Today's puzzle is not revealed anywhere on this page.
LUCAS
Maurice Lucas
F · 1976–1988
Maurice Lucas's career
Maurice Lucas played 12 seasons between 1976 and 1988, across 6 franchises — Trail Blazers, Nets, Knicks, Suns, Lakers and Thunder. Over 855 regular-season games he averaged 14.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists, finishing with 12,339 career points. He was 4× All-Star, 1× All-NBA and 1× champion.
He entered the league in the 1974 draft, taken 14th overall in the lottery. 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 long career of 12 seasons he was a consistent starter at 14.4 points per game.
- Games
- 855
- PPG
- 14.4
- RPG
- 8.8
- APG
- 2.3
- Points
- 12,339
- Rebounds
- 7,520
- Assists
- 1,987
- 3PM
- 4
Teams
- Trail Blazers · 1977–1980
- Nets · 1980–1981
- Knicks · 1982
- Suns · 1983–1985
- Lakers · 1986
- Thunder · 1987
- Trail Blazers · 1988
Honours
4× All-Star · 1× All-NBA · 2× All-Defensive · 1× NBA champion
About the answer
The answer was LUCAS — 5 letters, made up of 5 distinct letters and beginning with L.
The optional hint offered that day read: “Played for POR 1977–80, BKN 1980–81, NYK 1982, PHX 1983–85, …”.
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. Maurice Lucas qualifies on the first route, with 4 All-Star selections — a repeat selection.
With 6 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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