Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints, Answers for June 16 #631

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Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. If you’re struggling with the puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Raleigh.

Green group hint: Sports cinema.

Blue group hint: Basketball economics.

Purple group hint: Not minimum.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: A North Carolina athlete.

Green group: Baseball films.

Blue group: NBA contract terms.

Purple group: Max ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is a North Carolina athlete. The four answers are Blue Devil, Hornet, Hurricane and Tar Heel.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is baseball films. The four answers are 42, Bull Durham, Eight Men Out and Major League.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is NBA contract terms. The four answers are 10-day, midlevel exception, supermax and two-way.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Max ____. The four answers are Fried, Scherzer, Strus and Verstappen.