Sound of a perfect basketball shot

Latest answer — May 21, 2026

59 Across

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NYT Crossword

This clue's Thursday, May 21, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Gossiped-about duo
  2. 5River whose southernmost source is found in Burundi
  3. 9Animal that expresses anger by spitting
  4. 14Curbside call
  5. 15Egg's outline
  6. 16Traditional Vietnamese garment whose name means "long shirt"
  7. 172000 Eminem single with lines from his "biggest fan"
  8. 18St. Benedict, for one
  9. 19Central meeting points
  10. 20timiL
  11. 2350¢ or $1: Abbr.
  12. 24Fish more formally known as a batomorph
  13. 25Capital of Portugal, to natives
  14. 29Crown of jewels
  15. 31Penultimate Greek letter
  16. 33One of four seen on Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man"
  17. 34Goat's cry
  18. 35Golfer's suppor-
  19. 38Move like a fox
  20. 40Get a lode of this!
  21. 41John from Britain
  22. 42Evade
  23. 44"Bad" beginning
  24. 45Like news that everyone already knows
  25. 46Legal boundaries?
  26. 47Kind of cat with a black-and-white coat
  27. 50More melted, as a marshmallow
  28. 53Tree alongside a ski run
  29. 54Bro, e.g.
  30. 55P | u | n | c | h | e | s
  31. 59Sound of a perfect basketball shot
  32. 62"Beware the ___ of a patient man": John Dryden
  33. 63Ordered
  34. 64Increase, as interest
  35. 65German Ms.
  36. 66Pupil's surroundings
  37. 67Environmentalist Adams
  38. 68Site for many stars?
  39. 69Sounds of disapproval

Down

  1. 1Short negative review
  2. 2Floor covering in a Japanese tearoom
  3. 3"Bingo!"
  4. 4Stole material
  5. 5Southern denial
  6. 6Something tickled on a piano
  7. 7"Buy ___. They're not making it anymore" (old saying)
  8. 8Philanthropic group with a clock face in its logo
  9. 9The so-called "Pineapple Isle"
  10. 10Goes around and around
  11. 11Make sense, with "up"
  12. 12"Maggie ___," classic folk song covered by the Beatles
  13. 13ChatGPT, Claude, etc.
  14. 21Inflicts
  15. 22Muse of history
  16. 26Lasting damage from a tough experience, metaphorically
  17. 27Milkshake flavor
  18. 28Gospel shout
  19. 30"Fountain of Milk Spreading Itself Uselessly on Three Shoes" painter, 1945
  20. 31Contented sounds
  21. 32"Changed my mind," in editing notation
  22. 35Curl
  23. 36Hip-knee connectors
  24. 37Source of linseed oil
  25. 38It's all a haze
  26. 39Drug bust unit
  27. 43Model Miranda
  28. 47Make neat
  29. 48Large-eyed African antelope with a duplicative name
  30. 49Fixate
  31. 51Give out
  32. 52Neighbor of Ricky and Lucy, on 1950s TV
  33. 53Far from house-trained
  34. 56Dodgy
  35. 57100%
  36. 58End piece?
  37. 59Belinda's business on "The White Lotus"
  38. 60Prevail
  39. 61Some test figs.

The answer to “Sound of a perfect basketball shot” in the New York Times crossword is SWISH — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on May 21, 2026, a Thursday puzzle, at 59-Across. Below you'll find why that fill fits, every other answer we've recorded for this clue, and links into the puzzle it came from.

“Sound of a perfect basketball shot” answer

SWISH (5 letters)

Reveal the solution one letter at a time with the tiles above if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Just want it outright? The answer is SWISH.

Why the answer is SWISH

SWISH is the 5-letter solution that fits "Sound of a perfect basketball shot" in the NYT Crossword crossword on May 21, 2026 (59-Across). Use the letter tiles above if you'd rather reveal it one letter at a time.

What does SWISH mean?

Reading the plain dictionary sense of SWISH is often the fastest way to see why it answers this clue.

(verb)

  • move with a hissing or rushing sound
  • sink (a shot) without the ball touching the backboard or rim

When else has “Sound of a perfect basketball shot” appeared?

New York Times reuses clues across dates, sometimes with a different answer depending on the grid. Here's where this exact clue has shown up, and what the answer was each time — handy when you're checking whether today's fill is the only one.

May 21, 2026 (most recent) → SWISH. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Sound of a perfect basketball shot”?

The answer is SWISH, a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on May 21, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Sound of a perfect basketball shot”?

5 letters: SWISH.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times crossword on May 21, 2026 (a Thursday puzzle), at 59-Across.

Can “Sound of a perfect basketball shot” have a different answer?

Yes — New York Times sometimes reuses a clue with a different solution to fit the grid. The answers we've recorded for each date it appeared are listed above when available.

Where can I find the rest of this day's NYT Crossword answers?

The full grid for May 21, 2026 is on the NYT Crossword answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

New York Times Crossword is published by The New York Times; WordHint is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher.

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