PLAYBASKET.GAMES

NBA Starting Lineup Quiz

MISSING FIVE

NBA / EUROLEAGUE STARTING LINEUP QUIZ

Can you guess the starting five?

Missing Five is a historical NBA lineup guessing game with a EuroLeague option. Use the team, opponent, season and exact game date to name all five players who started that matchup. These are verified game lineups—not current lineup predictions, season rosters or fantasy drafts.

01 / READ THE GAME

Start with the matchup

Choose NBA or EuroLeague, then see the game date, teams and season before you name a player. Every lineup is sourced from a real game.

02 / FIND THE FIVE

Search every starter

Type a player’s name and select a matching suggestion to make your guess. A correct starter fills a spot on the board. Use a clue if you cannot remember who started that particular game.

03 / PROTECT YOUR SCORE

Hints cost points

Each starter is worth up to 200 points. Wrong guesses lower that starter’s value, while a hint caps it at 50 and a reveal is worth zero.

Lineup sources: NBA starters are checked against dated ESPN box scores with starter flags. EuroLeague starters use the competition’s official Live Stats box scores and game feeds. Read About & sources for the data policy.

Why the game date matters: Bulls at Utah, June 14, 1998: Toni Kukoč started; Dennis Rodman came off the bench. ESPN’s dated box score distinguishes their roles. Both belonged to the same season roster, but only the starter meets a starting-lineup clue for that game. This historical teaching example is outside the current playable lineup set; it does not list all five answers to a puzzle.

Want to build a roster instead? EuroLeague Draft & Season lets you draft five players and simulate the season. For player clues without a specific matchup, try Basketball Wordle.

How do I play the NBA Starting Lineup Quiz?

Read the team, opponent, season and exact game date, then search for the five players who started for the named team. A player being on the season roster is not enough: they must have started that specific game.

Can I play a EuroLeague starting lineup quiz?

Yes. Select EuroLeague above the game to switch to real EuroLeague matchups. The goal stays the same: identify the five actual starters using the game context and player clues.

How is the NBA Starting Lineup Quiz scored?

Each of the five starters starts at 200 points. One wrong guess lowers that starter to 150, two or more wrong guesses lower it to 100, a hint caps it at 50 and a reveal gives zero.

Is Missing Five daily, or can I keep playing?

Missing Five is not limited to one daily puzzle. After completing a lineup, choose Next lineup in the result window to play another matchup in the selected league. Completed results are saved on this device when browser storage is available.

Where do the historical starting lineups come from?

NBA starters are checked against dated ESPN box scores with starter flags. EuroLeague starters use the competition’s official Live Stats box scores and game feeds. Each lineup is tied to an exact game, not a season roster or a projected lineup.