New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson kicks off the new season of ‘SNL’ tonight

NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson, of the 2026 championship-winning New York Knicks, kicked off the 52nd season of “Saturday Night Live.” During Saturday’s hoops-heavy show, Brunson delivered a monologue in which he promised to approach his “SNL” performance with the same strategy he used during Knicks’ NBA Finals games. “The first three quarters of the show are going to be god-awful,” he said. “The last sketch is going to be amazing.” The monologue featured “SNL” veteran Kenan Thompson as ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith, invited by Brunson so the player could “get some closure” after Smith had expressed doubts about his abilities. “I am man enough to admit that I was wrong when the New York Knickerbockers signed you and I did not think that you were the answer,” Thompson’s Smith said.