Jalen Brunson Gets A Big Assist From Knicks Teammates In ‘SNL’ Opening Monologue

“Saturday Night Live” host and reigning King of New York Jalen Brunson got by with a little help from his friends during his big moment on the sketch show.

Brunson, captain of the New York Knicks, delivered an opening monologue Sept. 26 that heavily referenced the team’s NBA title-winning run this year. But of course, it wasn’t complete without an appearance from the rest of his fellow now-iconic Knicks starting five.

Brunson’s episode marked the Season 52 premiere of “SNL,” which also featured musical guest KATSEYE.

During the monologue, Brunson opens up to audience questions. The camera pans to the crowd, revealing Brunson’s Knicks teammates Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns.

The crew asks some pretty unhinged questions. Bridges, for example, asks his buddy, “Are my arms, like, really long?”

And Anunoby, with his signature dry humor, asks Brunson about the ending of the NBA Finals’ Game 4 in which Anunoby famously tipped in Brunson’s failed 3-point attempt.

“Remember in Game Four when you took that shot in the end and you missed it?” Anunoby asks Brunson in front of the live studio audience.

Among the highlights of the Q&A sesh was Hart’s questions to Brunson. The pair, whose friendship stretches back to their years playing together in college at Villanova University, go back-and-forth, roasting one another.

“Is it true that you took $113 million pay cut just to re-sign with the Knicks?” Hart asks at one point, before following up. “So is that money like still up for grabs?”

Brunson also teases Hart about a failed layup.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

“AI be looking so real!” Hart responds.

The four end up joining Brunson on stage at the end of the monologue in a picture-perfect moment for the starting five.

The group — who won the championship after a nail-biter on June 13, ending a 53-year-long championship drought — previously told TODAY that they owe much of their success to their undeniable chemistry. Their final game featured an epic comeback from being down 29 points, and Brunson explained that it was the crew’s faith in one another that allowed them to stay hopeful.

“I think what we found is that we built these past two years of us being together, we built a chemistry, we built a rapport where no matter what was going on in the game, we were going to find a way to turn it around and just kind of pick it up,” Brunson told hosts Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin.

“SNL” airs on NBC, a division of NBCUniversal, which is also the parent company of TODAY.com.