John Tesh's 'Roundball Rock' NBA return part of NBC deal has fans hyped: "It's coming home"

NBC Universal confirmed the return of the "Roundball Rock" theme used in NBA games when the network had its rights from 1990 to 2022. The league is expected to sign a massive $77 billion deal with ESPN, NBC and Amazon to broadcast and stream games starting in the 2025-26 season.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, NBC Sports announced "Roundball Rock" is returning. It showed a video featuring the old-school introduction video along with the injection of current stars such as Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic and more.

"TURN IT UP. I LOVE THIS SONG! The NBA is coming back - Fall 2025 on NBC and Peacock," the account tweeted.

Fans are excited about the return of "Roundball Rock" to their television screens in 2025. It's a classic theme composed by John Tesh, who reportedly composed it in a hotel and called his answering machine so he wouldn't forget the tune, as per TIME Magazine.

"'It's coming back.' No…..It's coming home," one fan wrote.

"I'm so emotionally excited!!! Let's do this right, guys!!" another fan replied.

"BA BA BA BA BA BASKETBALL. GIMME GIMME GIMME THE BALL. BECAUSE I'M GONNA DUNK IT!" a fan responded.

While most fans are excited about the return of basketball to NBC, others want to feel the nostalgia since most grew up watching it in the 1990s. Some fans went further by suggesting NBCU to embrace the throwback theme and don't change anything from their production more than 20 years ago.

"Do the right thing with the old school intro, graphics, announcing everything with new video of the current players," a fan opined.

"Need the pregame monologues back too," another fan commented.

"This theme does something to me. Wish Bill Walton could be on commentary," one fan remarked.

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TNT Sports looking to fight the NBA amid deal with NBCU, Disney and Amazon

Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of TNT Sports, had the rights to match the offer from NBCU, Disney and Amazon. They announced on Monday that they will do just that but the NBA still agreed to the $77 billion deal. The league also claimed that TNT didn't match the offer.

However, TNT is not going down without a fight and made the following announcement on Wednesday:

"We have matched the Amazon offer, as we have a contractual right to do, and do not believe the NBA can reject it. In doing so, they are rejecting the many fans who continue to show their unwavering support for our best-in-class coverage, delivered through the full combined reach of WBD's video-first distribution platforms — including TNT, home to our four-decade partnership with the league, and Max, our leading streaming service.

"We think they have grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights with respect to the 2025-26 season and beyond, and we will take appropriate action. We look forward, however, to another great season of the NBA on TNT and Max, including our iconic 'Inside the NBA.'"