The New York Times Crossword · 14-Across · 3 letters
Heat setting, in brief? The New York Times Crossword clue
Editorially reviewed August 30, 2026
Decode the turn
Reveal the answer now—or spot the trick first.
What to notice
Treat Heat as Miami's basketball team and name its league in three letters.
Open the answer and unpack the wordplayOne click · no signup
Answer
How the trick resolves
NBA is the “setting” for the Miami Heat: their professional basketball league. The question mark signals the Heat-as-team wordplay, and “in brief” requests the three-letter abbreviation.
Continue this puzzle"Aladdin" villain →The turn in the clue
The capitalizable sense of Heat names a team, while the question mark and “in brief” signal a playful abbreviation.
The answer in plain English
The NBA is the National Basketball Association, the league in which the Miami Heat play.
Where this clue appeared
14-Across in The New York Times Crossword puzzle for August 30, 2026.
Browse selected The New York Times Crossword clues →More selected clues from The New York Times Crossword · August 30, 2026
Continue with independently explained clues from the same puzzle date. This is a selected learning set, not a complete answer list.
See NBA meaning and common clue patterns →
Related reviewed clues
Solve the next clue here.
Paste another clue, add the letters you trust, and keep solving without returning to search.
This independently written explanation is for learning and clue analysis. Crossword Clue Tutor is not affiliated with or endorsed by The New York Times Crossword or its publisher.