This is the NBA on NBC.
Those words, and the iconic sports theme playing in the background as they were said, have not been heard during the broadcast of an NBA game in over two decades.
They make their comeback Tuesday night when the league returns to the network, with a season-opening doubleheader on NBC and Peacock – bridging the broadcasting partnership from the original era of post-up isolations and cable boxes to the modern age of 3-point shooting and streaming.
“We’re obviously going to lean into the past, but we’re going to build forward and grow the game and grow with the game,” said Sam Flood, executive producer and president of production for NBC Sports.
For a generation of fans who witnessed NBC broadcasts bookended by three-peats – starting with Michael Jordan’s first championship and ending with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant’s last as teammates — those words and that music represents far more than a catchy slogan and melody.
It’s part of the soundtrack of their lives that, when heard all these years later, transport them to another time, place and television screen.
For some, it’s their childhood, when that love of basketball developed and an allegiance was first pledged.
For others, it’s their prime, when that love peaked as legends were made and championships were won.
For all, it’s their nostalgia, when that long-lost love suddenly resurfaces with the opening notes of Josh Tesh’s “Roundball Rock” and the familiar voice of Jim Fagan saying “This is the NBA on NBC.”
“It’s a different expectation from an audience, so we’re going to make sure we meet those expectations as best we can,” Flood said. “And then clearly, between Tesh and Jim Fagan and the laser Peacock and some other elements, you will feel that connection. And those who watched the ‘NBA on NBC’ during those glory years, from 1990 to 2002, they’ll feel that familiar beat and that familiar look that made the ‘NBA on NBC’ so special.”
The Theme
John Tesh will take a seat at a sports bar on Tuesday night to watch a basketball game, just as he did 35 years ago.
It was Nov. 3, 1990, and the Los Angeles Lakers were set to play the host San Antonio Spurs in NBC’s first NBA broadcast of the season.
Tesh was watching at an airport bar in Atlanta when the theme song he wrote, a process that began with him calling his house and humming the “Bada-da-da-da-da—da—da…” melody into his answering machine, began to play.
Tesh called the bartender over and told him that his song was playing.
“Great,” the bartender replied. “Can I get you another beer?”
The bartender serving Tesh his drinks on Tuesday when his song and the NBA on NBC returns might be more impressed.
When “Roundball Rock” debuted, there was no way for a musician, television executive or bartender to know of the phenomenon it would become.
It’s now a permanent chart-topper in the hearts and minds of sports fans – even spawning its own Wikipedia page and a famous “Saturday Night Live” sketch.
“It’s supernatural to me,” Tesh told NBC Local on Tuesday after he performed the song live on “TODAY.” “I don’t know how this actually happened, but I’ll take it… Songs are like kids, you work on them, and you work on them, and you send them out into the world and then it’s like, ‘Well, let’s hope something nice happens.’ I had written so many other themes and I didn’t see this coming when it did.”
After the new partnership between the NBA and NBC was announced, Tesh and an orchestra went to Nashville to record a new version of the song with new trumpet lines and what he described as more of a traditional orchestral approach than the rock-heavy original.
He quickly was convinced not to use it.
“We tested it out and I liked it, but the fans really wanted the OG arrangement,” Tesh said. “You just gotta respect it and respect the fans, because the fans, they’ll tell ya. And they have. They told us don’t make any changes, this is it. Which is why we stayed true to it. That’s the one you’re gonna hear.”
The return of “Roundball Rock” also inspired Tesh to get back in the studio and begin writing again. He spent a year creating 11 new songs for his recently-released album “Sports” – which includes the classic ”Roundball Rock” as well as an updated “shredded” version.
“It’s not an easy-listening record,” Tesh said. “It’s a record that you would put on if you want to get going in the morning, if you’re feeling down, or if you just want to have a great workout.”
The song from the album that is about to return to a global playlist was nearly sold.
“When I was going through a cancer battle, I wanted to sell my catalog to make sure that, my wife and I talked about this, about just taking care of the family,” Tesh said. “At the last minute, my granddaughter said, ‘Pop Pop, you can’t sell this song, this is legendary.’ And so it sort of stalled us for a while and then all of a sudden it was the announcement that it was coming back. So, she saved the song.”
So, on Tuesday night, when the theme plays on NBC during an NBA game for the first time in 23 years, Tesh will once again be seated at the bar.
“It’s so funny because my poor wife, Connie, has been calling bars and trying to find a bar where — because there’s so many games that happen now, there so much more sports on the air now, so many TVs – where me and my family can sit when it comes on the air, and we’ll hear it just like I did 35 years ago.”
Then, perhaps, he’ll call the bartender over once again.
The Booth
“Roundball Rock” evokes a different emotion for Reggie Miller whenever he hears it.
“My hand starts to tremble,” said the Basketball Hall of Famer, whose finest moments as a player were broadcasted on NBC. “Because at some point, I know I’m going to have to lace them up and go against MJ, which I wasn’t looking forward to.”
Miller’s most memorable appearances on the NBA on NBC involved him facing Jordan and the Chicago Bulls or Spike Lee and the New York Knicks. His go-ahead 3-pointer over Jordan in Game 4 of the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals aired on NBC. His 25-point fourth quarter against the Knicks in the 1994 conference finals, also on NBC. His eight points in nine seconds in the 1995 conference semifinals, also against the Knicks, and also on NBC.
Miller will be back on NBC for opening night, but this time in the broadcast booth as an analyst.
“When this opportunity presented itself with NBC, I’d had some of my best moments on this network, and personally for a chance for myself to come home and be able to tell stories and hopefully create new moments for the next generation, personally for me, I’m a kid in a candy store,” Miller said.
Miller will be joined by play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico and fellow analyst Jamal Crawford.
“I literally remember NBC coming on and the production and the event status that it was and seeing the opening and just hearing Bob Costas, and after the commercial break going outside to see how many dribbles I can get in before coming back in,” Crawford said. “It lit a fire in me, and never in a million years did I think I would be working with this great team. This is beyond my wildest dreams.”
For Tirico — also the voice of “Sunday Night Football“ – NBC’s new 11-year deal with the NBA gives him an opportunity to get back behind the microphone for an NBA game as he once did with ESPN.
“For me, it was so unique because as NBC lost the NBA contract, that came over to ESPN and ABC, and that’s where I got my association with the (National Basketball) Association going,” he said. “After leaving there, I didn’t know if I’d ever have the chance to get back courtside and call an NBA game, but the opportunity to do that is just terrific.”
The NBA on NBC schedule will include “Sunday Night Basketball” beginning Feb. 1, 2026; “Peacock NBA Monday” debuting Oct. 27; and “Coast 2 Coast Tuesday” doubleheaders starting Oct. 28. Some Peacock exclusives on Mondays will include an “On the Bench” feature, in which an analyst will be dedicated to each team and sit courtside near their respective bench to offer fans unique perspective and insight.
“The concept is one analyst viewing the game through the lens of the team they’re assigned,” Flood said.
Added Tirico: “There are 1,230 NBA games during a regular season. So, to have some small percentage of them done in a very unique way kind of gives an ability to stand out amongst the volume that is the regular season with a unique broadcast.”
New features as such will combine with nostalgic elements to recreate and enhance the beloved 1990s broadcasts.
“Again, as a player…I had some of my best moments, and it was because of NBC and how they formatted and how they really brought the game of basketball to life, the personal stories,” Miller said. “You can talk about all the X’s and O’s you want, but they did very human-type elements in their production, and I think we’re going to bring that back, and I’m excited to be a part of it.
“But, yeah, my hand still gets sweaty, my friend.”
The GOAT
“I’m back.”
The announcement of Michael Jordan’s return to NBC wasn’t quite as brief as the famous two-word fax he sent when the player many consider the best of all time made his NBA comeback from a brief retirement in 1995.
But he will be back on the network when the NBA returns to NBC like Jordan wearing No. 45 – one of his many games that aired on NBC, along with his iconic switch-hands layup, all six of his championship runs, his final shot as a member of the Bulls and other moments.
“I am so excited to see the NBA back on NBC,” Jordan said in a statement when his role was announced in May. “The NBA on NBC was a meaningful part of my career, and I’m excited about being a special contributor to the project.”
Jordan will have his own series throughout the 2025-26 NBA season called “MJ: Insights to Excellence.” The first portion of his interview with Tirico for the series will air at halftime of Tuesday’s opening game.
“Stay tuned Tuesday night,” Flood teased when asked about Jordan’s role.
The Studio
Brad Mangin/NBAE via Getty Images
Brad Mangin/NBAE via Getty Images The NBA on NBC returns for the 2025-2026 season after a 23-year hiatus.
As a child, Adam Littlefield would watch the NBA on NBC and imitate the players he saw on television.
“Playing out the games on my little Nerf hoop,” he said.
While in college at the University of Maryland in June 2002, shortly after the men’s basketball team won its first national championship to create “basketball fever” on campus, he watched the Los Angeles Lakers sweep the New Jersey Nets in the NBA Finals to capture their third consecutive championship.
“Obviously not really understanding the impact of it being the last games that was going to be played on NBC,” he said.
Now more than 20 years into his career at Comcast, having recently led NBC’s Premier League studio coverage, Littlefield is set to begin his new role as the lead studio producer for the NBA on NBC.
“When the NBA opportunity came up, I just… listen, it’s the NBA on NBC,” he said. “I don’t think anything more needs to be said.”
He’ll instead let the NBA legends he works with do the talking.
That includes Hall of Famers Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady and Carmelo Anthony, who will join host Maria Taylor as the core of NBC’s studio team.
“I think we were looking for those big authentic personalities and, quite candidly, that’s now my job to make sure that that chemistry is there,” Littlefield said. “So, our message to them is, ‘You’re having a conversation with your buddies on the couch talking ball, and the audience is just flies on the wall and they are fortunate enough to be listening in.’”
They’ll do so, when not on site at a game, from a new state-of-the art studio at NBC Sports headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.
The 360-degree setup includes a traditional studio desk and other demo areas, including a basketball court. It’s a far more expansive space than the studio used by the previous NBC studio regime at 30 Rock in New York – with Flood recently comparing it to going from Apollo 1 to the rockets that now take civilians to Mars.
“We can throw [studio analysts] a ball and if they want to demo a set or how a team is running an offense, we’re going to have a steady cam in there so they can move with them,” Littlefield said. “It’s going to give them a lot of opportunities to just really kind of be free and move around.”
When the crew entered the new studio for the first time, Littlefield compared it to the first day of school.
Carter responded that it was the first day of training camp.
“There’s coaching and there’s film study and there’s team dinners and there’s bonding moments,” Littlefield said. “That’s what we’re going through with this group to get them set for what is a huge season for us.”
Because when the pregame intro begins, and the laser peacock shines, and the “Bada-da-da-da-da—da—da…” plays, and an AI-generated version of Fagan’s voice speaks, and the season tips, a new era begins as past meets present.
“It is a huge responsibility to take up the mantle of what some people call one of the most iconic partnerships in sports broadcasting,” Littlefield said. “So, you feel it from the beginning. It’s internal. You want to make sure that you’re doing everything you can to hold up that standard in terms of the nostalgia…but also pushing to the future.”
This, once again, is the NBA on NBC.
