SNL Recap: The NBA Takes Over As Jalen Brunson Makes His Season 52 Hosting Debut

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Saturday Night Live finally returns for season 52 with NBA star Jalen Brunson hosting for the very first time.

Saturday Night Live season 52 tips off with New York Knicks star Brunson after a championship season that ended with him earning 2026 NBA Finals MVP honors. He’s joined by KATSEYE, who are also making their first appearance on the show as musical guests. Check out the highlights and flops of the debut episode below.

Brunson delivers a very charming and endearing monologue. He opens by poking fun at the Knicks’ reputation for being a last-quarter team. He said that the episode could follow the same formula as their games, a rough, nerve-wracking start followed by a strong finish, joking that the last sketch of the night would be the best.

His fellow Knicks stars, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart, are all spotted in the audience and included in his monologue. Brunson and his teammates take a few shots at each other before they eventually join them on stage.

The sketch parodies the popular TV series Shark Tank and centers on “Respectables,” a pair of glasses designed to discourage men from staring at women’s chests. The device sounds an alarm whenever someone’s eyes linger too long. Throughout the pitch presentation, the alarm goes off several times whenever the creators (Ben Marshal and Jeremy Culhane) look at Lori Greiner (Sarah Sherman). James Austin Johnson plays Kevin O'Leary while Brunson portrays Daymond John.

Weekend Update tackles a controversial topic surrounding artificial intelligence, with Jane Wickline playing Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. He appears hilariously nervous while trying to calm everyone’s fears about AI. However, his reassurance quickly goes off the rails when he admits that he has serious concerns about his creations, constantly stating and retracting this belief that AI might kill everyone in ten years.

Ashley Padilla’s character is already dealing with a stressful trip home because her father is hospitalized. Things only get worse after she and her partner, played by Andrew Dismukes, get stranded at the airport.

Meanwhile, Mikey Day and Brunson are having the time of their lives with the massage chairs in the airport. Their over-the-top reactions make everyone around them uncomfortable. This sketch overdoes it with the suggestive noises that keep escalating, making it a difficult watch.

Saturday Night Live airs new episodes every Saturday at 11:30 PM ET and 8:30 PM PT on NBC.