Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, composer John Tesh gifted The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz the rights to his most famous piece of work, “Roundball Rock.”
But what initially appeared to be a nostalgia play for Meadowlark Media’s flagship show turned out to be quite the coup, with the popular basketball anthem reentering the cultural zeitgeist with NBC reacquiring a portion of the NBA’s media rights package.
Even before the NBA and NBC finalized their agreement, Tesh had revealed that the Comcast-owned network had reached out to him about re-licensing “Roundball Rock.” Additionally, Tesh shared that he was in the process of recording an updated version of the song, which would then be used when the NBC’s new NBA deal goes into effect at the start of the 2025-26 season.
On Thursday, Tesh debuted the new “shredded” version of “Roundball Rock” via The Dan Le Batard Show.
“I wrote an extra piece to put on the end of ‘Roundball Rock’ and then we did what’s known of the ‘shredded version,'” Tesh said as he introduced the piece remotely. “So get ready, because here’s the first time anybody other than the people in the recording studio are hearing it.”
The new edition certainly lives up to the hype, featuring both a faster pace and the work of guitarist Andrew Synowiec, who is heavily featured throughout the instrumental. And while NBC is clearly making a nostalgia play in promoting its upcoming NBA coverage — which again, is nearly a year away from beginning — it makes sense that the network would have an updated theme song, rather than relying on the original version of “Roundball Rock,” which was first recorded in 1990.
As for the Le Batard Show, having the ability to not just use, but debut the “shredded version” of “Roundball Rock” is a legitimate get. With basketball fans waiting with bated breath for the new anthem, there is only one place that it can claim it provided the first listen.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.