He sent the theme to NBC executives, not as a demo, but as a finished product. It arrived not on cassette, but on a VHS tape, with the song played over highlights of the 1988 NBA Finals.

When does NBA on NBC start? NBA on NBC will be back beginning in the 2025-26 NBA season. An exact date for the first broadcast is TBD.

It was the origin of the song “Roundball Rock,” which Tesh estimates was played 12,000 times during game coverage as the NBA on NBC theme from 1990 to 2002.