Poeltl

Poeltl is the daily NBA player guessing game named after center Jakob Poeltl, where you have eight tries to identify one mystery active player. Every guess lines your pick up against the hidden answer across categories like team, position, height, age, and jersey number, with colors and arrows steering you closer. It is the same single puzzle for everyone each day, refreshing at midnight Eastern.

What is Poeltl?

Poeltl is a daily basketball deduction game built around a single hidden answer: one active NBA player that every visitor is trying to name on the same day. You start typing a player's name, the game suggests matches from its roster, and once you lock in a guess it lines that player up against the secret answer across a row of categories. Instead of letters turning green or yellow, you are reading a table of basketball attributes, which makes it a guessing game about scouting knowledge rather than spelling.

Each guess is scored column by column. The categories cover the player's team, conference, division, position, height, age, and jersey number. Green in a column means you matched that exact attribute. Yellow carries different meanings depending on the column: in the team column it signals a player the answer used to play for but does not currently, in the position column it flags a partial overlap such as sharing one of two listed positions, and in the numeric columns it means you are within two of the target, meaning two inches of height, two years of age, or two off the jersey number. On height, age, and jersey number you also get an up or down arrow telling you whether the real answer is higher or lower than your guess, which turns those three columns into a steady narrowing process.

The game traces back to February 25, 2022, when Gabe Danon, a web developer and producer on the Dunktown podcast and a regular Wordle player, built it and named it after center Jakob Poeltl. It found a following quickly, and in February 2024 the National Basketball Players Association relaunched it together with Danon and Jakob Poeltl himself, who came on as a co-owner and ambassador. That is why the official game now lives under the NBPA, with the older dunk.town address redirecting to the players association site.

You get eight guesses to land the answer, and if you are stuck there is a silhouette option that reveals the player's outline as an extra visual clue. A new mystery player drops every day at midnight Eastern, the same one for everyone, and when you finish the game produces a spoiler-free emoji grid you can copy and share so friends can compare how many tries it took. The vibe is friendly trivia rather than punishing simulation: casual fans can usually fence in the right team and conference fast, while die-hards enjoy chasing the exact age and number. It rewards people who follow rosters, trades, and player measurements, and it plays in well under a couple of minutes.

How to play Poeltl

1. Type the name of an active NBA player and pick from the suggestions to submit your first guess.
2. Read the result row across the columns: team, conference, division, position, height, age, and jersey number.
3. Treat green as an exact match and yellow as a near miss, such as a former team, a partial position overlap, or a value within two for height, age, or jersey number.
4. Follow the up or down arrows on height, age, and jersey number to learn whether the answer sits higher or lower than your guess.
5. Combine the clues to rule players out, then enter a sharper guess that fits every confirmed attribute.
6. Name the mystery player within your eight guesses, and use the silhouette option if you need an extra visual hint.

Tips and strategy

• Open with a well-known starter on a clearly defined team and position so your first row locks down conference and division immediately.
• Watch the team column closely: a yellow there means the answer once played for that franchise, which can point you toward a recently traded veteran.
• Use the height arrows to separate guards from bigs early, since a single up or down arrow can eliminate an entire tier of players.
• When position shows yellow, think about combo players, like a guard-forward or forward-center, rather than assuming a clean single-position match.
• Lean on the jersey number arrow late, once you have narrowed team and position, to break ties between two players who otherwise look identical.
• Save the silhouette reveal for when your attribute clues have stalled, since the outline can confirm a body type before you spend a guess.

Good to know

Resets

Daily at midnight Eastern (EST)

Guesses

8 attempts

Cost

Free to play

Creator

Gabe Danon (Dunktown podcast), launched Feb 25, 2022

Publisher

Relaunched in Feb 2024 by the NBPA with Jakob Poeltl

Platform

Browser, official site poeltl.nbpa.com

Poeltl FAQ

Is Poeltl free?

Yes. Poeltl is free to play in a web browser, with no purchase or subscription required to take the daily puzzle.

How many guesses do you get in Poeltl?

You get eight guesses to identify the mystery NBA player. If you are stuck, there is a silhouette option that reveals the player's outline as a hint.

When does Poeltl reset?

A new mystery player is released every day at midnight Eastern time, and it is the same puzzle for every player that day.

Who made Poeltl and who runs it now?

It was created by Gabe Danon, a Dunktown podcast producer, on February 25, 2022, and named after Jakob Poeltl. In February 2024 the NBPA relaunched it with Danon and Poeltl, who became a co-owner and ambassador.

Is there a Poeltl archive to play past puzzles?

The official site offers one puzzle per day with no built-in archive, so once it resets the prior day's player is no longer the live answer. Some players replay older days through browser workarounds, but there is no official archive mode.