Jalen Brunson brought his Knicks teammates to Saturday Night Live’s opening monologue, and the night went exactly as planned. The 2026 MVP swapped quips with Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart during his first appearance on the show, weeks after the Knicks won their first NBA Championship since 1973.
Brunson called on the group one by one, each joke landing with the kind of chemistry that suggests these four have spent plenty of time together off the court. Towns asked if he could stay for the whole show, since you can’t foul out of SNL. Brunson confirmed it, and Towns responded, “So I could be here like the whole show? Nice!”
Bridges got in on the action too, asking if his arms were “pretty long.” Brunson agreed he had a “great wingspan,” and Bridges replied, “Yet, I’ll never fly.”
Hart brought the most pointed question of the night. He asked Brunson if it was true that he “took a $113 million pay cut just to re-sign with the Knicks.” Brunson confirmed it. Hart then pushed back: “Wow. So, is that money still up for grabs?”
Brunson deflected, pointing to a clip of Hart poking him in the butt during the trophy celebration. “I don’t know. But I do have a question for you. Why did you do this to me at the Cup Ceremony?” Hart answered with a laugh: “Because it was funny!”
Anunoby opened with a memory from Game 4 of the Finals. “Remember in Game 4, when you took that shot at the end and missed it? Remember what happened after?” Brunson recalled it: “Yeah, you tipped it in.” Anunoby laughed and added, “Oh yeah, that was awesome.”
The segment worked because it was loose and unscripted. These are Brunson’s actual teammates, and they sounded like it. The jokes landed because they were personal — Towns worried about fouling out, Bridges joked about his height, Hart defended his butt-poking. It felt like a group of friends making jokes in front of a crowd, not actors reading lines.
SNL has a history of bringing athletes to open shows, but few have brought teammates along for the ride. The Knicks’ championship run gave the group a shared story to lean on, and the monologue turned that story into a series of light, friendly exchanges.
The show also featured musical guest Katseye, and Season 25 continues on NBC with guest hosts Dakota Johnson, Shane Gillis and Inde Navarrette, along with musical guests Turnstile, Rosalía and Gracie Abrams.
Saturday Night Live’s 52nd season started with a team that just won a championship. The monologue proved that the team’s bond carries over into comedy just as easily as it carries over into basketball.
This was a victory lap for Knicks fans, and it was a pretty good one.
Key Facts Box
– Championship: Won over the San Antonio Spurs in June
– Last title: Knicks, 1973
– Brunson’s role: 2026 MVP
– Pay cut: $113 million, confirmed by Brunson
– Monologue guests: Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart
Source material: “‘Saturday Night Live’: Jalen Brunson’s Knicks Teammates Join Him During Opening Monologue,” Deadline.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.