| NBA All-Star ___ Ming | 21 |
| NBA and others | 14 |
| NBA announcer's "threeee!" | 40 |
| NBA arbiters | 12 |
| NBA Atlantic Div. city | 22 |
| NBA award | 9 |
| NBA award recipients | 20 |
| NBA ballhandler Jason | 21 |
| NBA big man | 11 |
| NBA big men | 11 |
| NBA bio stat | 12 |
| NBA body decoration, for short | 30 |
| NBA broadcaster | 15 |
| NBA cager Paul Pierce, briefly | 30 |
| NBA center Manute who was 7'7" | 39 |
| NBA center Ming | 15 |
| NBA center Ming who retired in 2011 | 35 |
| NBA center who was a three-time MVP | 35 |
| NBA center __ Ming | 18 |
| NBA city | 8 |
| NBA coach Auerbach | 18 |
| NBA coach Jackson | 17 |
| NBA coach Jason | 15 |
| NBA coach Jerry | 15 |
| NBA coach Pat | 13 |
| NBA coach Thomas | 16 |
| NBA coach with over 1,100 victories | 35 |
| NBA commissioner David | 22 |
| NBA competitor, once | 20 |
| NBA div. | 8 |
| NBA division | 12 |
| NBA draft airer | 15 |
| NBA employee | 12 |
| NBA ex-coach Brown | 18 |
| NBA extra periods | 17 |
| NBA extras | 10 |
| NBA figure | 10 |
| NBA Finals channel | 18 |
| NBA five | 8 |
| NBA forward Diogu | 17 |
| NBA forward Lamar __ | 20 |
| NBA franchise | 13 |
| NBA game feature | 16 |
| NBA game site | 13 |
| NBA game sites (when the league isn't locked out) | 53 |
| NBA giant, familiarly | 21 |
| NBA great | 9 |
| NBA great Archibald | 19 |
| NBA great Chamberlain | 21 |
| NBA great Drexler | 17 |
| NBA great Erving | 16 |
| NBA great Erving's nickname | 31 |
| NBA great Frazier | 17 |
| NBA great Gilmore | 17 |
| NBA great Hayes | 15 |
| NBA great Thomas | 16 |
| NBA great Thurmond | 18 |
| NBA great Unseld | 16 |
| NBA great's nickname | 24 |
| NBA great, for short | 20 |
| NBA guard Tinsley | 17 |
| NBA Hall of Famer Baylor | 24 |
| NBA Hall of Famer Dan | 21 |
| NBA Hall of Famer George | 24 |
| NBA Hall of Famer Hal | 21 |
| NBA Hall of Famer Hayes | 23 |
| NBA Hall of Famer Thomas | 24 |
| NBA Hall-of-Famer -- Thomas | 27 |
| NBA Hall-of-Famer Archibald | 27 |
| NBA Hall-of-Famer Baylor | 24 |
| NBA Hall-of-Famer George | 24 |
| NBA Hall-of-Famer Unseld | 24 |
| NBA head coach George or actor Malden | 37 |
| NBA hiree | 9 |
| NBA infractions | 15 |
| NBA Inside Stuff co-host | 27 |
| NBA legend | 10 |
| NBA legend Archibald or Thurmond | 32 |
| NBA legend Baylor | 17 |
| NBA legend Chamberlain | 22 |
| NBA legend Earl Monroe sobriquet | 32 |
| NBA legend George Gervin's nickname | 39 |
| NBA legend Kareem ___-Jabbar | 28 |
| NBA legend nicknamed "The Big Baryshnikov" | 52 |
| NBA legend Robertson | 20 |
| NBA legend Unseld | 17 |
| NBA legend, familiarly | 22 |
| NBA legends Archibald and Thurmond | 34 |
| NBA legends Archibald or Thurmond | 33 |
| NBA locale | 10 |
| NBA long shot? | 14 |
| NBA member | 10 |
| NBA military appreciation initiative, and a hint to this puzzle's theme | 75 |
| NBA MVP between Steve and Kobe | 30 |
| NBA MVP of the 1980-81 season | 29 |
| NBA nail-biters | 15 |
| NBA nickname | 12 |
| NBA official | 12 |
| NBA official who calls the shots | 32 |
| NBA one-pointer | 15 |