NBA Chainle
Rate itLink two NBA players through teammates who shared a court.
Every day: One pair of NBA players a day, a start and a finish, the same for everyone on the current data version. You link them through teammates, aiming for the shortest chain. New puzzle: Midnight UTC.
NBA Chainle gives you two NBA players each day and asks you to connect them through teammates. Every link has to be two players who appeared for the same team in a recorded game, and the board shows the shortest route it knows so you can try to match it.
About NBA Chainle
NBA Chainle is a daily basketball chain puzzle on WordleCup, a fan-made site of daily sports puzzles covering soccer, basketball and American football. Each day it sets a start player and a finish player, and your job is to build a chain of teammates from one to the other.
A link counts only when the two players appeared for the same team in a game the site has on record, so sharing a franchise name across different eras is not enough. When you add a player, the game shows the match that proves the link, such as a Finals box score. Once a player you add has a verified link to the finish player, the chain closes by itself.
The player pool is a curated set rather than the whole NBA: at the time of writing it held 112 searchable players across 10 teams, with the source games listed on the page. The board tells you the best chain length it knows, so the challenge is to get there in as few links as you can. Hints and a reveal are there if you are stuck; they do not stop you finishing but they show on your result.
The daily pair changes at 00:00 UTC, and if midnight passes mid-round you can still finish. A Practice tab draws other pairs from the same pool without touching your daily result. Progress is kept in your browser, with no account. It suits fans who know who played alongside whom, especially around trades and title runs.
How to play NBA Chainle
- Open the Daily tab to see today's start player and finish player.
- Type a name in the search box of someone who played on the same team at the same time as the start player, and press Connect.
- Check the match record shown under the new link: it is the game that proves the two were teammates.
- Keep adding teammates from the last player in your chain.
- When a player you add has a verified link to the finish player, the game completes the chain for you.
- Use Undo last link to back out of a detour, or Get a hint if you are stuck; hints and unverified picks appear on your score.
Tips
- Think about trades: a player who moved teams is often the bridge between two rosters.
- Look beyond a star's best-known team; a later stop in his career may hold the link you need.
- Browse the player pool on the page to see who is in the dataset before you guess.
- Compare your chain length with the board best shown under the two players.
Questions
When does NBA Chainle reset?
The daily pair changes at 00:00 UTC. If midnight passes while you are playing, you can finish the round before moving to the new board.
Does every NBA player count?
No. The game uses a curated set of players and recorded games, so a missing link means the site has no record of it, not that the players were never teammates.
Do I need an account?
No. Daily and practice progress are saved in your browser, so clearing site data or changing device can lose them.
Ratings and reviews
Games like NBA Chainle
Baseball Name Chain
Another daily chain of players, built in baseball by names rather than shared teams.
HoopGrids
Also tests which NBA players crossed paths on which teams, in a 3x3 grid.
Poeltl
The daily NBA player guess, using team, position and other clues.
NBA Connections (HoopGrids)
Groups NBA players by what they share instead of chaining them.
Lineups (HoopGrids)
Name a whole team's roster from one season, the same roster knowledge Chainle leans on.
Dribble
Connect two NBA players through a chain of shared teammates in six guesses or fewer.
Roster Relay
Link two star players through a chain of teammates from the same team and season.
Ball Don't Cry
Name three NBA players a day from their career stat lines.