| 100% | KENNY | 5 | With 36-Across, Rockets great who's an analyst for "Inside the NBA" |
| 69% | CHARLESBARKLEY | 14 | Suns great who's an analyst for "Inside the NBA": 2 wds. |
| 69% | SHAQUILLEONEAL | 14 | Lakers great who's an analyst for "Inside the NBA": 2 wds. |
| 38% | MICHELLE | 8 | With 36-Across, "The Greatest Showman" actress who plays Anne Weying in "Venom" |
| 37% | DIRK | 4 | NBA great Nowitzki who played 21 seasons with the Mavericks |
| 36% | GINGER | 6 | With 36-Across, home remedy for an upset stomach |
| 36% | STACY | 5 | With 36-Across, 2013 Women's British Open winner who received the Best Female Golfer ESPY Award in 2013 |
| 35% | MEGHAN | 6 | With 36-Across, political commentator who's cohosted "The View" since 2017 |
| 35% | YAO | 3 | With 35a, name of the Chinese basketball player who played for the Houston Rockets |
| 35% | LIN | 3 | Jeremy who is the only Taiwanese American with an NBA championship title |
| 35% | HIDEKI | 6 | With 36-Across, Japanese golfer who won the 2021 Masters Tournament |
| 35% | JASON | 5 | With 36-Across, Honolulu-born actor who played the title role in "Aquaman" |
| 34% | STEPH | 5 | With 36-Across, Warriors phenomenon who was the unanimous league MVP in 2016 |
| 34% | THEFRIENDSWEMADEALONG | 21 | With 126/127 Across, companions on our life's journey who were more valuable to us than our destination ... and an alternate title for this puzzle |
| 34% | BIRD | 4 | Larry who was an NBA All-Star 12 times with the Boston Celtics |
| 33% | ANGELA | 6 | With 33-Across, Germany's only female chancellor who received the Fulbright Prize for International Understanding in 2018 |
| 33% | JALENGREEN | 10 | #2 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft who plays for the Houston Rockets: 2 wds. |
| 33% | NAOMI | 5 | With 36-Across, Japanese tennis player who defeated Serena Williams in the 2018 US Open final |
| 33% | JOAQUIN | 7 | With 36-Across, "The Master" actor who plays aspiring comedian Arthur Fleck in 2019's "Joker" |
| 33% | BIGGAME | 7 | Slang term for the event occurring this Sunday featuring an 8 Across & a 23 Across, with "The" |
| 33% | DWIGHT | 6 | With 33-Across, center who led the NBA in field goal percentage for the 2009-2010 season, with the Magic |
| 33% | JENNIFER | 8 | With 44-Across, actress who won an Emmy Award for playing Tanya McQuoid on the first season of "The White Lotus" |
| 32% | RODDY | 5 | With 36-Across, rapper with the 2020 #1 hit "The Box" whose name contains an unexpected double letter |
| 32% | CLAUDIARANKINE | 14 | "Citizen: An American Lyric" writer who was honored with the 2014 Lannan Literary Award for Poetry (2 wds.) |
| 32% | JAMES | 5 | ___ Harden, one of the highest-paid NBA players of 2019 who is a shooting guard for the Houston Rockets |
| 32% | RUSSELL | 7 | ___ Westbrook, one of the highest-paid NBA players of 2019 who is a point guard for the Houston Rockets |
| 32% | CHRISTINA | 9 | With 36-Across, the actress - whose birthday it is today - who played Kelly, the daughter, on "Married... with Children" |
| 32% | RIGHTYTIGHTY | 12 | With 36-Across, mnemonic device for turning 54-Across … or a hint to the answers to the starred clues |
| 32% | ZEUS | 4 | Great Dane who holds the Guinness World Record for world's tallest dog |
| 32% | KYRIEIRVING | 11 | Point guard who, in 2016, won both an NBA title with the Cavaliers and an Olympic gold medal: 2 wds. |