Jalen Brunson brings four Knicks teammates to “Saturday Night Live”: A champion’s night and a team’s message

Jalen Brunson didn’t sing, and he made sure everyone knew it. Hosting the season 52 premiere of Saturday Night Live, the reigning NBA Finals MVP turned the show into a celebration of his New York Knicks. Brunson was joined in the audience by Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart — four teammates who became part of the opening monologue. Towns asked if a player could foul out of SNL; Bridges asked about his long arms; Anunoby brought up the Game 4 tip-in that sealed the Knicks’ title run against the San Antonio Spurs; Hart, Brunson’s podcast co-host, asked about the $113 million Brunson left on the table when he re-signed with New York. Brunson also joked about ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, played by Kenan Thompson, and Madison Square Garden, calling it the spot where Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce got married. Brunson became the first active NBA player to host SNL since LeBron James in 2026, and only the fifth NBA player ever to host, after Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Bill Russell and James. His closing promise — that the first three quarters would be bad but the final sketch great — mirrored the way he plays close games. But the deeper statement was collective: a champion team, not a lone star, standing together under the brightest lights.