One-on-one basketball play, for short crossword clue
39 Across · WSJ Crossword, June 4, 2026 · 3 letters
Explanation
The answer to “One-on-one basketball play, for short” is ISO. It appears as 39 Across in the Wall Street Journal crossword of June 4, 2026, a Thursday puzzle titled “Defeatist Attitude” by Bryan Cheong & Zachary Edward-Brown, and it fills 3 squares running left to right from row 8, column 7 of the 15×15 grid.
The shortening cue in the clue tells you to expect an abbreviation or initials rather than a full word. The entry begins with I and ends with O, and contains 2 vowels and 1 consonant. If you are working from the crossings, two or three confirmed letters from the Down entries should be enough to lock it in. Thursday puzzles lean harder on misdirection, so expect the rest of this grid to be pitched at the same level.
Past appearances
ISO has not appeared as an answer in any other WSJ puzzle in our index, which runs from May 2026 onward. It will be listed here the next time it turns up.