Jalen Brunson will be the first Knicks player and the fifth NBA player to host the show. Angela Weiss / AFP via Getty ImagesSept. 9, 2026 Updated 2:30 pm EDTJalen Brunson’s victory lap after winning the NBA championship with the New York Knicks continues: He will head to Rockefeller Center to host “Saturday Night Live” this month.The popular NBC sketch comedy show revealed Wednesday that Brunson will host its Season 52 premiere on Sept. 26. Musical guest Katseye will accompany Brunson on the episode.Brunson becomes the first Knicks player and fifth NBA player to host the show. He joins NBA legends Bill Russell (1979), Michael Jordan (1991 season opener after winning his first championship with the Chicago Bulls), Charles Barkley (1993 season opener; 2010, 2012, 2018) and LeBron James (2007 season opener).
FIRST FOUR OF SEASON 52!!! pic.twitter.com/m8F1Hnf1gS
— Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) September 9, 2026Brunson and the Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs in five games in the NBA Finals to win New York’s third championship in franchise history and first in 53 years. Brunson won NBA Finals MVP after averaging 28.4 points throughout the Knicks’ legendary playoff run, which captured the city of New York and fans around the world. (In June, The Athletic’s Law Murray even suggested SNL should tab Brunson to host its Season 52 opener!)Other athletes or managers who have hosted SNL while playing for or otherwise being connected to a New York professional sports team include Yankees manager Billy Martin (1986 season finale), then-Yankees owner George Steinbrenner (1990), Yankees star shortstop Derek Jeter (2001) and Giants quarterback Eli Manning (2012). Hockey star Wayne Gretzky, who later played for the New York Rangers, hosted the show in 1989 while playing for the Los Angeles Kings.SNL won’t be Brunson’s only appearance on an NBC show. Mariska Hargitay, star of “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” and a Knicks fan, confirmed last month that Brunson, whom she’s friends with, will “definitely” have a role in the upcoming season. No details have been revealed.
