Brunson needs a week to pick a favorite SNL sketch, hasn't watched episode
The short version
- Brunson hosted the season 52 premiere of Saturday Night Live on NBC on Saturday, Sept. 26.
- At Knicks Media Day, he asked for a week to name a favorite sketch, saying he has only seen clips and the monologue.
- Josh Hart on the episode: "I thought he was fine. He doesn't have a future in acting."
- Brunson won NBA Finals MVP after the Knicks' first championship in 53 years, averaging 32.6 points per game.
- The Knicks open the regular season Oct. 20 against a 76ers team that added LeBron James and Jaylen Brown.
At Knicks Media Day, Jalen Brunson asked for a week to name a favorite SNL sketch, while Josh Hart delivered a blunt verdict on the hosting debut.
New York Knicks standout Jalen Brunson spent his Saturday night hosting Saturday Night Live for the first time, and when the team's 2026 Media Day arrived a couple of days later, he admitted he still had not watched the episode back. Asked by reporters to name the sketch he enjoyed most, Brunson asked for another week before answering.
His reason was straightforward. "Ask me in like a week, because I still haven't really watched it. I want to watch it," Brunson said. What he has taken in so far has come in pieces. "I've seen clips. The only thing I really watched was the monologue," he explained.
The episode, which aired Saturday, Sept. 26 on NBC, served as the premiere of the sketch program's 52nd season. The writing was shaped around its host's profession, with several segments built on basketball, among them a parody of High School Musical.
The broadcast also functioned as a team occasion. During Brunson's opening monologue, the rest of New York's starting five — Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart — rose to ask questions, then stepped forward to share the stage with him in front of the audience.
Hart, for his part, did not spare his teammate in his assessment of the episode. "I thought he was fine. He doesn't have a future in acting," Hart said of the night's host.
The television booking closed one of the most consequential stretches of Brunson's career. Last season he guided the Knicks to a title, the organization's first in 53 years, and the run earned him NBA Finals MVP honors after he averaged 32.6 points per game.
The aftermath kept him busy through the summer months. The championship celebration featured a parade through New York City, and his turn as host of the Season 52 premiere followed as one of the final major events of the offseason.
With the entertainment commitments finished, attention returns to the floor. New York opens the 2026-27 regular season against the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 20, the first game of the club's championship follow-up.
Philadelphia will present a far different challenge than it did in the spring. New York swept the 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals during its title run, but the Sixers responded by adding LeBron James and Jaylen Brown during the offseason to play alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, giving the opener an early measuring-stick quality.
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