TNT had fans buzzing after playing a song that sounded very similar to the one used on NBC in the 1990s. During the NBA playoffs broadcast, fans noticed TNT playing a song similar to “Roundball Rock” by John Tesh. However, the song is actually called “Heart of the Champion” by hip-hop artist Nelly from his 2004 album Sweat. “Heart of a Champion” uses samples of “Roundball Rock,” which first gained attention on The NBA on NBC from 1990 to 2002.
After 2002, Roundball Rock has been used sparingly on different broadcasts. “It’s become a bigger part of my life,” Tesh said in an interview with USA Today in 2018 when talking about the song. “I’ve got a show we’re doing now — ‘Songs and Stories from the Grand Piano’ — and I’m in the middle of writing a memoir for HarperCollins. About a year ago, I got a clean bill of health after a three-year cancer battle. It was a struggle for me and the family and we got through it.” Tesh then said, “Those sports years trained me to write music quickly and use pictures to create music, and as I look back on that, the way that theme was written, it just happened so quickly.” Here’s a look at fans reacting to Nelly’s version of “Roundball Rock” being played on TNT.
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Truly stunned to see this level of Nelly Erasure. pic.twitter.com/cm415dH0gz
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) September 12, 2020
I see you TNT using that Nelly song to sneak Roundball Rock in there.
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) September 12, 2020
truly disconcerting to hear TNT go to a commercial break with the Nelly song that samples Roundball Rock
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) September 12, 2020
I’m thoroughly disappointed to see that the timeline just discovered that Nelly sampled “Roundball Rock” 16 year ago.
— James Lipscomb (@Jimmy2Lips) September 12, 2020
TNT putting their own lyrics to “Roundball Rock” is a slight against Tim Robinson and I won’t stand for it.
— Josh Gondelman (@joshgondelman) September 12, 2020
Was that John Tesh Roundball Rock with lyrics going to break?
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) September 12, 2020
Am I hearing this right, did they start using “roundball rock” again for the NBA theme, and also wrote WORDS for it?????
— Luke A Sportshan (@LukeMahan) September 12, 2020
OMG WHEN DID THEY GO BACK TO ROUNDBALL ROCK ON THE TNT BROADCAST?!!!!
— Nicky Football (@GetNickG) September 12, 2020
ROUNDBALL ROCK FOREVER SLAP
— Are Candied Yams Candy? (@YoungQwan) September 12, 2020
Did I just hear (a knockoff version of) Roundball Rock on this basketball broadcast?!?!
— David Weiner (@BimaThug) September 12, 2020
Damn TNT playing that Nelly ‘Heart of a Champion’ at the end of the 3rd quarter. If only one of these networks had just bought the rights to ‘Roundball Rock’ 🤦🏾♂️
— CHAMPIONSHIP CHUCK™ (@DontBeAnUCH) September 12, 2020
TNT sneaking in roundball rock by playing heart of a champion by nelly folks give them an Emmy that is a MOVE
— Danault2430 (@Danno2430) September 12, 2020
I don’t know WHAT those lyrics TNT just played for Roundball Rock were, because THESE are the only acceptable lyrics: https://t.co/seLSSVFBrB
— Greg Iwinski (@garyJackson) September 12, 2020
Oh you really like roundball rock? You want a medal for being born between 1980 and 1992?
— Matthew Zeitlin (@MattZeitlin) September 12, 2020
.@NBAonTNT playing Nelly’s “Heart of a Champion” is the closest we getting to Roundball Rock for #NBA games.
— Faisal Hassan (@Faazzla) September 12, 2020
Roundball rock has to be a top 5 easiest song to get stuck in your head and you can’t even be mad when it happens https://t.co/TuBCu8kmcN
— Paul Marboe (@pmarboe33) September 12, 2020
.@NBAonTNT just went to commercial during Raptors-Celtics with the lyrical interpretation of “Roundball Rock,” Heart Of A Champion, by Nelly https://t.co/Dje6GaKpQz via @YouTube
— Jeremy Schilling (@jschil) September 12, 2020
I love how @NBAonTNT doesn’t have the rights to “Roundball Rock” so they did the next best thing and used Nelly’s “Heart of a Champion” going to commercial at the end of the third #NBAPlayoffs #NBAonTNT
— Reez (@ReezHill) September 12, 2020
No one told me there’s a Roundball Rock remix like the one TNT played just now.
— Mookie Alexander (@mookiealexander) September 12, 2020
TECHNICALLY ROUNDBALL ROCK ON TNT
— Ryan McDonnell (@RyanMcD29) September 12, 2020
YES IT’S THE NELLY SONG BUT STILL COUNTS
these are not the right lyrics for roundball rock what are they doing
— jiminy ‘fuck 12’ cricket (@a_archj) September 12, 2020
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