| 100% | LOMBARDI | 8 | Hall-of-Fame coach who purportedly said "Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit" |
| 44% | MICHAEL | 7 | ___ Jordan, former basketball player who once said, "If you quit once it becomes a habit. Never quit" |
| 40% | HALAS | 5 | Pro Football Hall of Fame coach who once played for the New York Yankees |
| 40% | PHIL | 4 | Hall of Fame coach Jackson who won a record 11 NBA championships |
| 38% | PHILJACKSON | 11 | 2007 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee who coached the Bulls and the Lakers to a total of 11 NBA championships (2 wds.) |
| 38% | BUNNING | 7 | Hall of Fame pitcher Jim ___, who became a US senator from Kentucky |
| 34% | LISALESLIE | 10 | Basketball Hall of Fame inductee who was the first player to dunk in a WNBA game: 2 wds. |
| 34% | LEBEAU | 6 | Dick ___, Pro Football Hall of Fame coach who popularized the zone blitz |
| 34% | RBG | 3 | Initials of the person who said "Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you" |
| 33% | RICKADELMAN | 11 | 2021 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee who coached five NBA teams in four decades (1989 to 2014) (2 wds.) |
| 33% | THECIDERHOUSELURES | 18 | Story of a youth who says to hell with it and goes to the pub? |
| 33% | VINCELOMBARDI | 13 | Hall of Fame coach on the Packers from 1959 to 1967: 2 wds. |
| 33% | JUSTICEGINSBURG | 15 | Subject of this puzzle, who once said "Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you" |
| 33% | BERRA | 5 | Yogi who said "When you come to a fork in the road, take it" |
| 33% | KNUTEROCKNE | 11 | College Football Hall of Fame coach on a 1988 U.S. commemorative postage stamp who worked as a mail dispatcher at a Chicago post office for four years (2 wds.) |
| 32% | MAEWEST | 7 | Early film star who once said, "I believe in censorship. I made a fortune out of it." |
| 32% | WATSON | 6 | To whom it is said "You have a grand gift for silence …. It makes you quite invaluable as a companion" |
| 32% | MALCOLM | 7 | Who said "If you're not ready to die for it, put the word 'freedom' out of your vocabulary" |
| 32% | JOHNWOODEN | 10 | Basketball Hall of Fame coach honored on a 2024 U.S. postage stamp (2 wds.) |
| 32% | TONYDUNGY | 9 | Hall-of-Famer who was the first Black head coach to win a 15 Across |
| 31% | EEYORE | 6 | Kid-lit character who says, "It's not much of a tail, but I'm sort of attached to it" |
| 31% | WALTERALSTON | 12 | Hall of Fame manager who led the Dodgers to four World Series wins (2 wds.) |
| 31% | CONNIEMACK | 10 | Hall of Fame manager who led the Athletics to five World Series wins (2 wds.) |
| 31% | CASEYSTENGEL | 12 | Hall of Fame manager who led the Yankees to seven World Series wins (2 wds.) |
| 31% | TOMFLORES | 9 | Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist who won the 49-Across as a player for the Chiefs and as a head coach for the Raiders (2 wds.) |
| 30% | BLARNEY | 7 | — Castle, stronghold in County Cork, Republic of Ireland, housing a stone said to endow those who kiss it with the gift of flattery |
| 30% | BERRA | 5 | Hall of Famer who was a Yankee manager and a Mets coach |
| 30% | ANNE | 4 | Hall of Famer Donovan, first woman to coach a WNBA championship team |
| 30% | WHEN | 4 | A waiter might ask you to say it |
| 30% | EDISON | 6 | He once said, "To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk" |