The phrase that is the best meaning of the word "cohesive" in this sentence is "united together".
In the sentence,
"The chaotic jumble of individuals at the first day of basketball practice gradually learned to work with each other as a cohesive team by the end of the season", you will discover that "united together" is the best phrase.
The adjective "Cohesive" is actually gotten from the Latin word, "Cohaerere" which means "to cleave together". Actually, cohesive things stick together. They are usually united and unified. Also, from the options given, you will see that if you use context clues, you will find out that "cohesive" means "united together" in context.
