He Created the Sports Theme Song You Didn’t Know You Knew

It’s a little bit “aggressive” and a little bit “light.” The theme song for TNT’s “Inside the N.B.A.” is as much a character as the show’s popular hosts.

Even the most casual N.B.A. fans probably remember the classic theme song for games played on NBC during the golden era of 1990s basketball. They’ll almost assuredly recall that it was written by John Tesh, the former television host and composer. Some might even know that it’s called “Roundball Rock.” It has been memorialized in pop culture on “Saturday Night Live” and further enshrined with a video of Tesh explaining where the song came from: a voice mail message he left for himself. In the 21st century, another theme song has become familiar to N.B.A. fans, although most likely not as much as Tesh’s. It is the one that signals the start of one of the most influential studio shows in sports, “Inside the N.B.A.” on TNT. Here, the composer of the theme song is virtually unknown to the show’s viewers and even to its hosts. But he is a household name in some corners of music fandom and one of the industry’s most prolific composers. The composer is Trevor Rabin, the former guitarist of the progressive rock band Yes. The South African-born musician was the driving force behind the album “90125,” a comeback record for the band, and the song “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” the band’s only No. 1 hit. Rabin was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 with the band.