Musician and former television host John Tesh performed his iconic NBA on NBC theme music ahead of Sunday’s NBA All-Star game at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, marking the first time the 73-year-old had ever played the song live inside a sporting venue.
His latest rendition of Roundball Rock—which he composed in 1989 for NBC’s inaugural 1990 season broadcasting NBA games—proved, decades later, still capable of sending chills down the spines of pre-Gen Y hoop heads. The performance served to promote the league’s return this season to the peacock network after a 23-year hiatus.
But NBC isn’t the only one leaning into the song’s nostalgic pull. Tesh himself has been positioning to capitalize, taking steps to secure and strategically manage the intellectual property behind his enduring sports anthem.
On Dec. 11, Tesh, through his company FX Tesh, filed an application to trademark the phrase, “Roundball Rock,” for a class of goods and services that includes “music, toys, collectibles, jackets, t-shirts, jerseys, hats trading cards, posters and music chips.”
In an email, Tesh’s spokesperson Chris Roslin described the filing as a “very preliminary step” in exploring the commercial potential of Roundball Rock.
“This application reflects John listening to his fans—he receives many requests for Roundball Rock memorabilia, especially at his live concerts,” Roslin said. “At the same time this enables him to vet partnership opportunities for creating merchandise.”
The trademark bid follows a second act for the song—an indelible sound of the 1990s that rose to cultural prominence as Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles.
Last May, NBC announced that it had struck an agreement with Tesh to re-license the song after a lengthy negotiating process. The network earlier implied it had secured the rights when it unveiled its 11-year NBA broadcast deal in 2024, but the formal agreement came almost a year later. Tesh subsequently filed to copyright the music of Roundball Rock in June 2025, which was officially registered in September.
Tesh’s history with intellectual property protections has been touch and go. In 2023, he applied to trademark the phrase “John Tesh’s the Warrior Mindset,” but the bid was ultimately abandoned after he failed to file a timely extension request. Earlier efforts met similar fates.
In 2000, Tesh sought to register his full name as a trademark but did not complete the process, according to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records. At other times, Tesh has been more assertive.
Following the passage of federal anti-cybersquatting laws in 1999, Tesh filed suit against an online company that had registered JohnTesh.com. That case eventually settled. Years later, Tesh initiated arbitration proceedings against another entity that had registered that domain name, which was ordered to be transferred to him and now directs to his official website, Tesh.com.
From there, Tesh sells a selection of online offerings, including a $499 online piano course (currently running a half-off promotion), a $47 prayer course and a $7-per-month virtual life-coaching series.
Tesh has also found himself on the receiving end of IP grievances.
In 2003, he reached a legal settlement with a Missouri woman who alleged one of his songs infringed on a poem she had written about the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
More recently, the specter of legal actions surfaced in a much lighter vein.
Last summer, while promoting his new music album Sports, Tesh appeared in a video jokingly threatening to sue Chris Lovingood, a news anchor for Raleigh, N.C., station WRAL, for mouth-trumpeting the melody of Roundball Rock.
“There are some royalties involved here we have to talk about,” Tesh said. “You owe me some money.”