| 100% | JAMAL | 5 | ___ Crawford, the N.B.A.'s all-time leader in four-point plays |
| 51% | JAMESHARDEN | 11 | Current Rockets player and 8-time NBA All-Star who's scored 60+ points in a game four times: 2 wds. |
| 50% | KAREEM | 6 | Holder of the N.B.A.'s career points record before LeBron passed him in 2023 |
| 49% | DWYANEWADE | 10 | All-time leader in points, games and steals for the Miami Heat |
| 49% | DURANT | 6 | Four-time N.B.A. scoring champion in the 2010s |
| 47% | MVP | 3 | Award won four times in the W.N.B.A. by A'ja Wilson |
| 45% | STD | 3 | The S in a time-zone abbr. |
| 45% | DWADE | 5 | Nickname of the Miami Heat's all-time leader in points, games, assists and steals |
| 45% | RBIS | 4 | Hank Aaron led the N.L. in them four times |
| 44% | OILERS | 6 | Four-time N.H.L. champions in the 1980's |
| 43% | JERRYRICE | 9 | The NFL's all-time leader in receptions: 2 wds. |
| 42% | FEB | 3 | Mo. during which the N.B.A. All-Star Game is usually played |
| 42% | AARON | 5 | All-time leader in r.b.i.'s |
| 42% | SLC | 3 | Host location of the N.B.A.’s 2023 All-Star Weekend, for short |
| 42% | BREAKINGBAD | 11 | #3 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time (as of 2016) ... and a hint to what the black squares are doing in four rows of this puzzle |
| 41% | GMT | 3 | Time zone that is used as a central reference point for all the others: Abbr. |
| 41% | EAST | 4 | One team in the N.B.A. All-Star Game, with "the" |
| 41% | ELGINBAYLOR | 11 | Former Lakers player and 11-time NBA All-Star who scored 60+ points in a game four times: 2 wds. |
| 41% | KEVINGARNETT | 12 | Former Timberwolves forward who is the team's all-time leader in points, rebounds, blocks, and steals: 2 wds. |
| 41% | HAKEEMOLAJUWON | 14 | Former Rockets center who is the team's all-time leader in points, rebounds, blocks, and steals: 2 wds. |
| 41% | PATRICKEWING | 12 | Former Knicks center who is the team's all-time leader in points, rebounds, blocks, and steals: 2 wds. |
| 41% | MAV | 3 | Athlete in the N.B.A.'s Southwest Div. |
| 41% | DAYANDNIGHT | 11 | All the time, as well as a hint to the abbreviations hidden in the starred answers |
| 40% | THUNDER | 7 | What the N.B.A.'s SuperSonics became in 2008 |
| 40% | TRIPLET | 7 | In music, a group of three equal notes played in a time value of two or four |
| 40% | STATELINES | 10 | Borders represented four times in this puzzle — both in the grid and on a map |
| 40% | CAITLIN | 7 | Clark who became the all-time leading scorer across men’s and women’s N.C.A.A. basketball in 2024 |
| 40% | NATEBITATIBETAN | 15 | What the N.B.A.'s Thurmond did in Lhasa, palindromically? |
| 40% | MCADAMS | 7 | Played Clare Abshire in The Time Traveler's Wife |
| 40% | ALLSTARBREAK | 12 | "Time out" in the N.B.A. |