Jalen Brunson took his championship swagger to Studio 8H on Saturday night, bringing the Knicks’ core into the crowd for the season-opening episode of “Saturday Night Live.” The reigning Finals MVP hosted the 52nd-season premiere with Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, O.G. Anunoby and Josh Hart seated together and ready to turn the monologue into a Knicks locker-room bit.
Brunson opened by making clear that music was not part of his scouting report, then took a jab at Stephen A. Smith. Kenan Thompson played the longtime Knicks supporter and ESPN personality, with Brunson joking that Smith still owed him an apology for doubting him.
The Knicks captain also circled back to Madison Square Garden, saying he was eager to return to the building. He called it “the exact spot where Taylor and Travis got married,” referencing Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding at the arena.
His teammates supplied much of the rhythm. Towns wanted to know whether a player could foul out during an “SNL” show. Once he learned there was no such limit, Towns replied that he could stay for the entire broadcast. Bridges asked Brunson whether his arms were long before adding a complaint that he would never be able to fly.
Anunoby drew one of the louder reactions from the crowd, then put Brunson on the spot about a late miss in Game 4 of the NBA Finals against San Antonio. The Knicks took that series in five games, and Anunoby’s reference was to his buzzer-beating tip-in following Brunson’s miss, a play that effectively sealed the Game 4 win. “That was awesome,” Anunoby said.
Hart, Brunson’s Villanova teammate, Knicks running mate and podcast co-host, brought up the $113 million Brunson gave up in negotiations when he signed with New York. Brunson fired back by asking Hart why he poked him in the backside after the Knicks won the NBA Cup last season. Brunson then called all four teammates onto the stage, giving the crowd one final look at the group that carried New York through its title run.
The appearance put Brunson in rare NBA company. He is the first active NBA player to host the show since LeBron James did so with Cleveland in 2007, and the first active professional athlete to take the job since Chiefs tight end Kelce in 2023.
Among NBA players, only Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and Bill Russell had previously hosted beyond James and Brunson. Jordan handled the show in 1991. Barkley hosted four times, including while still an active player in 1993. Russell’s 1979 appearance came a decade after his retirement.
Brunson joined Jordan, Barkley and James as an NBA star assigned the season premiere, and he framed the assignment in the terms that fit him best: a close game with time winding down. “I’m going to approach this the same way I approach a Knicks finals game,” Brunson said. “The first three quarters of the show are going to be god-awful. The last sketch is going to be amazing.”
