The Legendary Roots Crew Slam Dunk First New Material Since ...and then you shoot your cousin, 2016 NBA Finals Theme Song "Champion" (okayplayer)

Let's face it, nearly any avid supporter of either basketball or Hip-Hop can likely attest to the beloved genre and stadium-filling sport's frequent cross-sectional analogies and often unexpected collaborations; be it Skee-Lo's 1995 Buffalo Springfield-interpolating "I Wish," Action Bronson's sprawling genre-defying Blue Chips series, Jurassic 5's trunk-rattling "What's Golden," or somewhat less favorable Michael Jordan & Bugs Bunny-helmed Space Jam soundtrack, Shaq's head-scratching Kazaam soundtrack, or Kobe Bryant's short-lived rap "career." Hip-Hop's latest rhyme-laden page added to the NBA's ever-growing playbook is brought to you by none other than Philly's finest Legendary Hard-working Roots Crew and Jimmy Fallon's long-time Tonight Show Band. The Roots seemingly penned "Champion" specifically for inclusion as the official 2016 NBA Finals Theme Song and in retrospect, it's only the next gradual progression; effectively following suit behind The Roots' previous Dwayne Wade & George "The Iceman" Gervin co-starring Stay Cool Gatorade commercial and last weekend's 30-second "Show Me You're a Champion" teaser, which was fittingly debuted over at ESPN. Although Roots emcee Black Thought has single-handedly rapped alongside everyone from Action Bronson to Royce 5'9", "Champion" serves as The Roots' first sampling of new material since 2014's ...and then you shoot your cousin. "[Black Thought] has the hardest job because we went a mile further by accident. It was like, 'You know what? We could customize the lyrics [to "Champion"] for every game.' So literally, for the next two weeks, Tariq will be in the studio at 3 in the morning giving a recap or the intro for what happened at that night's game," Roots bandleader ?uestlove recently revealed to The Hollywood Reporter, while on the red carpet at Popstar: Never Stop Stopping's star-studded premier.