NBA Chainle
Connect two NBA players through shared teammates. Find a short route across real teams and real games.
The target joins automatically when your new player has a verified link to it.
How to play NBA Chainle
- Start with the player on the board. Search for someone who played on the same team at the same time.
- Select a name to add a link. The match record below the link shows a date when both players appeared for that team.
- Keep connecting teammates until you reach the target. When a new player connects to the target, the game completes the final link automatically.
Every verified route counts. Undo a detour or ask for a hint; neither prevents you from finishing. Unverified picks and hints appear on your score.
A worked example
This example is separate from the daily schedule. A chain in the current dataset:
1. Thabo Sefolosha
2. Kevin Durant — shared Oklahoma City Thunder appearance on 2012-06-21
Think about the moves between teams
Trades turn old teammates into useful bridges. Think beyond a star's best-known team: a later move can be the link you need.
A player who only shares a team name with someone from a different era is not enough. Each accepted link needs a shared-team game in our verified records. Start with a teammate you know, then follow a move to another team.
What's in this board?
A curated network of NBA appearances across different eras. Every accepted link is backed by a recorded game; this is not the full NBA career database.
112 searchable players · 10 teams · 12 team-match records · 339 available pairs. Checked 2026-10-07.
Missing connections are possible. “No verified link” means our current records do not prove it; it does not mean the players were never teammates. “Shortest” always means shortest in this dataset, not all of sports history.
Browse the full player pool
Match sources and coverage
- ESPN game box score — Miami Heat / Oklahoma City Thunder, 2012-06-21
- NBA official scorer’s report — Golden State Warriors / Cleveland Cavaliers, 2016-06-19
- ESPN game box score — Golden State Warriors / Cleveland Cavaliers, 2017-06-12
- ESPN game box score — Boston Celtics / Cleveland Cavaliers, 2018-01-03
- NBA official scorer’s report — Golden State Warriors / Toronto Raptors, 2019-06-13
- NBA official scorer’s report — Miami Heat / Los Angeles Lakers, 2020-10-11
- ESPN game box score — Phoenix Suns / Milwaukee Bucks, 2021-07-17
- NBA official scorer’s report — Boston Celtics / Dallas Mavericks, 2024-06-17
Dates identify a verified match, not a player's complete contract or career interval.
When does the daily pair change?
At 00:00 UTC. Everyone using this data version gets the same pair. If midnight passes during your round, you can finish it before switching to today's board. Pairs repeat after the 339-pair schedule cycles.
Will my progress be saved?
Daily and practice progress are saved separately in this browser. Clearing site data, changing devices, private browsing, or a dataset update can remove your save. Practice draws from the same finite pair collection; it does not change your daily result.
Found a missing or incorrect connection? Send the two names and a match record.
WordleCup is independent. League and team names identify the players and their recorded teams; they do not imply endorsement.