Alright, so you’re askin’ what the “A” in NBA stands for, huh? Well, let me tell ya, it ain’t rocket science. It’s just plain ol’ “Association.” Yep, that’s it. Association.
Now, what’s an association, you might be wonderin’. Well, it’s just a bunch of folks gettin’ together for somethin’, ya know? Like them ladies down at the church, they got their own association for bakin’ pies and such. This here NBA, it’s an association for basketball fellas, the best in the world, they say.
I heard tell it started way back when, somethin’ about two groups fightin’ over who’s the best, and then they just decided to join up, like a couple of stubborn mules finally agreein’ to pull the same cart. That’s how you get this here National Basketball Association.
Them fellas runnin’ up and down the court, dribblin’ that ball and throwin’ it in the hoop… they’re part of this association. It’s like a big club, see? And this here “A” just means they’re all together in it, workin’ under the same rules and such. They got their own bosses and all, makin’ sure everyone plays fair and square…mostly.
- Sometimes them refs miss a call, I swear they need glasses, blind as bats some of ‘em.
- And the players, they get paid a whole lot of money, more than I ever seen in my whole life, let me tell ya.
- They got their fancy shoes and their shorts, runnin’ and jumpin’ like they got springs in their legs.
I don’t watch it all the time, mind you. Too much runnin’ around for my taste. I like a good game of checkers, somethin’ where you can sit down and think. But my grandson, he loves it. He knows all them fellas’ names, all them teams. He yells at the TV, gets all worked up. Kids these days, huh?
Anyways, that “A”, it ain’t nothin’ fancy. Just means they’re all together in it. The National Basketball…what was it? Oh yeah, Association. That’s the ticket. They put on a good show, I gotta say. All that flash and excitement. But at the end of the day, it’s just a bunch of fellas playin’ ball, part of somethin’ bigger than themselves. And that somethin’ is the Association, the NBA.
Sometimes I see the scores in the paper, all them letters and numbers. F for forward, G for guard…confusin’ stuff. But that “A” is always there, standin’ for Association. It’s the whole shebang, you understand? The whole darn thing.

So there ya have it. The “A” in NBA stands for “Association.” Nothin’ more, nothin’ less. Now, you go on and tell your friends, so they don’t go around lookin’ foolish, not knowin’ such a simple thing.
And if they ask you how you know, you just tell ’em an old lady told you. An old lady who might not know much about basketball, but knows a thing or two about what words mean. And that “A” means Association, plain and simple.
You know, it’s funny how these things are. Just one little letter, but it means so much. It brings all them teams and players together, under one big umbrella. It’s like a quilt, each team a different patch, but all sewn together to make somethin’ whole.
So, next time you see that NBA logo, you remember that “A” standin’ tall and proud. It’s a reminder that these fellas ain’t just playin’ for themselves, they’re playin’ for the Association, for somethin’ bigger. And that’s somethin’ to be proud of, I reckon.
Tags: [NBA, Association, Basketball, Sports, Definition, Meaning, Acronym, National Basketball Association]
