| 100% | SIXER | 5 | Philly N.B.A. player |
| 71% | HORNET | 6 | Charlotte N.B.A. player |
| 71% | RAPTOR | 6 | Toronto N.B.A. player |
| 70% | LAMAR | 5 | With 44-Across, N.B.A. player once married to a Kardashian |
| 70% | SONIC | 5 | N.B.A. player, for short |
| 70% | AINGE | 5 | N.B.A. player/manager Danny |
| 70% | PACER | 5 | N.B.A. player in Indianapolis |
| 69% | LUC | 3 | Former N.B.A. player Mbah a Moute, who helped discover Joel Embiid |
| 69% | THEKINGSSPEECH | 14 | Address by a Sacramento N.B.A. player? |
| 68% | KIDD | 4 | N.B.A. player-turned-coach Jason |
| 67% | SIXER | 5 | Philadelphia N.B.A. player, informally |
| 67% | LAKER | 5 | Los Angeles N.B.A. player |
| 67% | TALL | 4 | Like most N.B.A. players |
| 67% | AGELIMIT | 8 | 19, for N.B.A. players |
| 66% | CLEM | 4 | ___ Haskins, 1960s-'70s N.B.A. player |
| 66% | MAV | 3 | Dallas N.B.A. player, in brief |
| 65% | MURESAN | 7 | Gheorghe ___, former 7'7" N.B.A. player |
| 65% | MARC | 4 | Artist Chagall or N.B.A. player Gasol |
| 65% | ELVIN | 5 | Hall-of-Fame N.B.A. player Hayes |
| 65% | SERGE | 5 | Singer Gainsbourg or N.B.A. player Ibaka |
| 64% | THEPELICANBRIEF | 15 | Game notes for a New Orleans N.B.A. player? |
| 64% | THEGREENHORNET | 14 | Charlotte N.B.A. player in charge of recycling? |
| 63% | STEVENASH | 9 | First N.B.A. player to light the Olympic cauldron |
| 63% | FOUL | 4 | One of six allowed to an N.B.A. player |
| 62% | MRT | 3 | B.A. Baracus player on "The A-Team" |
| 62% | KING | 4 | A playing card, a bed size or an N.B.A. player |
| 61% | RODMAN | 6 | Hall-of-Fame N.B.A. player known as "The Worm" |
| 60% | EARL | 4 | ___ Boykins, longtime N.B.A. player who stood at only 5'5" |
| 60% | OAK | 3 | Virginia's ___ Hill Academy, alma mater of 20+ N.B.A. players |
| 60% | MRT | 3 | B.A. Baracus player on "The A-Team" (2 wds.) |