‘U.S. men’s basketball star with eight three-pointers in the gold medal game, familiarly’ NYT Mini Crossword answer and hints

I imagine many of you looking for the answer to this clue might live outside the United States, where basketball isn’t as appreciated. Or, you might not be a sports fan altogether. Whatever the case, we have some hints that should steer you in the right direction and make the five-down clue easier.

‘U.S. men’s basketball star with eight three-pointers in the gold medal game, familiarly’ NYT Sept. 17 Mini Crossword hints

• Hint one: One of the biggest, if not the biggest, names in basketball today.
• Hint two: The final two letters make up a scientific scale.
• Hint three: Their surname is a type of food commonly associated with South Asia.
• Hint four: It ends with “H.”

This is about as close as I can get you to the final answer without revealing it completely. Instead, I will do this in the next section of this guide.

‘U.S. men’s basketball star with eight three-pointers in the gold medal game, familiarly’ five down answer in NYT Sept. 17 Mini Crossword

“STEPH” is the correct answer for this clue as it refers to current NBA legend—and future Hall of Famer—Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors.

He is considered one of the greatest basketball players the game has ever seen and has gained a reputation for being arguably the best “shooter” in basketball due to his unreal accuracy and ability to net 3-pointers from anywhere on a basketball court.

The final two letters of “Steph” make up the pH, which tells us a solution’s acid or alkaline levels. “Curry” is a popular dish originating in India.

NYT Mini Crossword (Sept. 17) answers

Across

• 1A Game of throwns? — DARTS
• 6A Give a heads-up — ALERT
• 7A Like some credit card accounts — NO FEE
• 8A Not costing much — CHEAP
• 9A It’s celebrated every April 22 — EARTH

Down

• 1D Move to the music — DANCE
• 2D Hawaiian “hi” — ALOHA
• 3D Make an allusion (to) — REFER
• 4D Reward for a well-behaved dog — TREAT
• 5D U.S. men’s basketball star with eight three-pointers in the gold medal game, familiarly — STEPH

‘U.S. men’s basketball star with eight three-pointers in the gold medal game, familiarly’ NYT Mini Crossword difficulty rating

I know my sports, and even though I’m not American, I know a handful of basketball players—Steph Curry being one of them. The main sticking point for this clue is that you can either put “Steph” or “Curry” to fill the spaces, but solving other clues clears this up. For those who don’t like sports, I’ll be fair and give this a two out of five for difficulty as it’s not guaranteed knowledge, regardless of Steph Curry’s status.

How to play other word games like the NYT Mini Crossword

The LA Times and Washington Post are ideal for crossword connoisseurs who can’t get enough of the challenge. If you fancy a different type of logical test, ensure you get your hands on the Strands and Spelling Bee daily word games for alternate puzzles.