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My love of NBA basketball began when I first became a fan–around the very same time the unsuccessful New York Knicks traded slow-footed veteran Walt Bellamy to the Detroit Pistons for the lithe and athletic Dave DeBusschere, which in my mind began the transformation that eventually earned them two world’s championships within four seasons in the first years of the 1970s. It mushroomed around the time when they next seriously challenged for the title in the early 1990s when NBC took over the national TV rights and injected a level of excitement and moderinzation to telecasts that, frankly, CBS never fully embraced. The Knicks never did win another title in that era–a couple of antagonists named Jordan and Miller–let alone a cold streak from John Starks at the worst possible moment (Game 7 of the Finals)–were the primary reasons.
So it’s somewhat serendipitous that both of those said antagonists will be among the many personalities that will be part of NBC’s grand return to the league that starts tonight with a season-opening doubleheader. We will get Kevin Durant and his latest teammates–Houston’s overachieving Rockets–watching the team that evolved out of his first (the Oklahoma City Thunder, nee Seattle SuperSonics) get the first-ever set of professional rings for any team in the Sooner State. We then get the team that actually provided Durant with the rings he does have–the Golden State Warriors visit their arch-rival Lakers. Unfortunately, the ballyhooed showdown between the ageless wonders Steph Curry and Lebron James won’t take place–LBJ is out for a while with yet another injury. But Luka Doncic is very much in the house, and that ain’t nothing.
And I gotta believe that based on proximity alone we will also see John Tesh in person at some point during that game because NBC is fully embracing its legacy as a 90s destination and restoring its iconic ROUNDBALL ROCK theme that Tesh composed on a sabbatical from his day job as co-anchor of ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT. Don’t sleep on the fact that to a sizable percentage of fans that’s as big a deal as the games themselves. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED’s Teddy Ricketson took full advantage of the moment to educate the young ‘uns how and why that’s the case:
Fans watching NBA games on NBC in 1990 were treated to an up-tempo song to get them excited about the chosen matchup. The song was called “Roundball Rock” by John Tesh. It served as the intro music for the NBA on NBC for 12 years(.)
Tesh was asked in an interview what led him to create “Roundball Rock” and how NBC chose it. He was in France at the time, covering the Tour de France in 1989, when he got the idea for a song that could be used. He called his own voicemail back in the United States and left the song on his answering machine. When he returned from the trip, he added instruments to the theme he had left himself and began composing. Tesh then got some musician friends together and made a demo on a video cassette tape. He added it over basketball highlights of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.
Maybe that’s not the version you millennials might have been sold when SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE allegedly told the origin story. For the record, there is no actual Dave Tesh, although his lyrics have stood the test of time and reinforced the popularity and thus the anticipation that accompanies this season–coincidentally a year where the Knicks are actually being favored by many pundits to reclaim at least a trip to the NBA finals.
And if they do get there, they may again encounter Jordan and Miller, but this time only as members of NBC (and Peacock’s) team. While Miller has been involved in TNT’s coverage for many years, Jordan with a microphone is a new wrinkle. NBC 4 LOS ANGELES’ Logan Reardon broke the news yesterday as to the initial game plan to return MJ to their air:
The NBA’s GOAT is ready for his first appearance as an NBC employee. Michael Jordan, who officially joined the company as a special contributor earlier this year, will have his own series throughout the 2025-26 NBA season called “MJ: Insights to Excellence.”In a press release Monday, NBC Sports said the first portion of Jordan’s interview with Mike Tirico for the series will be shown during halftime of the opening game.
AWFUL ANNOUNCING’s Matt Yoder had earlier provided some details on who else is going to be Roundball Rocking:
- Rounding out the play-by-play lineup is rising star Michael Grady. The Minnesota Timberwolves play-by-play man has already got a national gig at Amazon calling the NBA and being their lead WNBA announcer and will add NBC duties to the mix as well.
- Former Los Angeles Lakers point guard Derek Fisher will work as a game analyst with NBC. Fisher won five NBA titles with the Lakers and had a brief spell as New York Knicks head coach. He previously has guest experience with TNT’s NBA coverage.
- Former Cleveland Cavaliers star Brad Daugherty will pull double duty as both an NBA and NASCAR analyst. Daugherty currently serves as a Cavs analyst in addition to his NASCAR work.
- Current Boston Celtics analyst Brian Scalabrine will call games for NBC. The colorful personality has added his own unique flavor to Celtics broadcast filling the impossibly large shoes of Tommy Heinsohn on NBC Sports Boston.
- Finally, NBC will tab two of their college basketball analysts to work NBA games in Austin Rivers and Robbie Hummel. Rivers recently moved from ESPN to NBC while Hummel has been acclaimed for his analyst abilities in the broadcast booth.
Fortunately, opening night is a big enough deal where the entire country will be able to see it all on linear television. In the 80 per cent of the country that falls into the Eastern and Central time zones THE TONIGHT SHOW will be delayed till at least 1:05 AM; in the balance somehow viewers will have to cope without Tom Llamas and the crews of EXTRA and ACCESS for a night. Moving forward, the Tuesday night coverage will be uniquely designed to drive adoption of Peacock. THE ATHLETIC’s resident expert Andrew Marchand explained their strategy:
For the 8 p.m. ET game, viewers in the Eastern and Central time zones will watch on NBC. If you live in the Pacific or Mountain time zones, the game will be on Peacock. Then, for the 11 p.m. ET game, viewers in the East and Central time zones will need Peacock, while western viewers will watch on NBC…The novel programming idea will make Peacock more of a must-have for hardcore fans while preserving a level of easy discovery for casuals. It marries broad distribution with digital dollars.
And if you’re a real hardcore fan, you’ve probably resigned yourself to the fact that what you used to get on basic cable with TNT has essentially migrated a brand new partner. Ricketson’s colleague Gilbert McGregor shared details:
NBA’s first-ever season on Amazon Prime Video will feature Ian Eagle and (Kevin) Harlan as the top play-by-play analysts. Unlike other networks, there is not a top broadcast team on Amazon, but rather a mixture of crews that will be employed for big games…A trio of legends will serve hybrid roles as (Dwyane) Wade, (Candace) Parker, and (Steve) Nash will provide color commentary for select games in addition to pregame analysis during the NBA on Prime studio show.
Yes, I’m as at least as excited as I was when NBC was last involved. The mix of novelty with respect and inclusion of the OG is exactly what gets me giddy. Now if the Knicks somehow live up to their end of the bargain and find a way to go deep into the playoffs I’ll hold out hope that Marv Albert (health permitting) might at some point turn up to add to the coverage. Let’s not forget that he also called their titles for local radio, which to this day remain the only two they’ve ever won. I know that’s probably not likely. But hey, it’s opening night. Cut me some slack.
Until next time…