NBA Wordle #85
Monday, September 28, 2026 · already played
The answer
Spoiler for the puzzle of Monday, September 28, 2026. Today's puzzle is not revealed anywhere on this page.
KING
Bernard King
F · 1977–1993
Bernard King's career
Bernard King played 16 seasons between 1977 and 1993, across 5 franchises — Nets, Jazz, Warriors, Knicks and Wizards. Over 874 regular-season games he averaged 22.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists, finishing with 19,655 career points. He was 4× All-Star and 4× All-NBA.
He entered the league in the 1977 draft, taken 7th 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 16 seasons he was a primary scoring option at 22.5 points per game.
- Games
- 874
- PPG
- 22.5
- RPG
- 5.8
- APG
- 3.3
- Points
- 19,655
- Rebounds
- 5,060
- Assists
- 2,863
- 3PM
- 23
Teams
- Nets · 1978–1979
- Jazz · 1980
- Warriors · 1981–1982
- Knicks · 1983–1985
- Knicks · 1987
- Wizards · 1988–1991
- Nets · 1993
Honours
4× All-Star · 4× All-NBA
About the answer
The answer was KING — 4 letters, made up of 4 distinct letters and beginning with K.
The optional hint offered that day read: “Small forward · debuted 1977”.
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. Bernard King qualifies on the first route, with 4 All-Star selections — a repeat 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.
Play it yourself
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