2027 NBA Championship Predictions: Expert Preseason Picks for Every Playoff Round<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s great to be here. I\u2019m very excited, as you guys can tell from my voice and face,\u201d Brunson dead-panned to the live studio audience.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s get into the funniest moments and best sketches of the night:<\/p>\n 6. Brunson picks on Troy Bolton character in High School Musical parody<\/p>\n SNL spoofed the 2006 Disney Channel classic High School Musical in a pretaped sketch starring Jeremy Culhane as \u201cJake,\u201d the Troy Bolton character who has talents in both basketball and music. Or so we thought.<\/p>\n In the sketch, Brunson\u2014wearing a Corbin Bleu-like wig\u2014walks into a basketball practice as the new kid at North High. As anticipated, a song breaks out in practice until Brunson puts a stop to it by repeatedly blocking Jake\u2019s shot. At the end of the sketch, Brunson shoves Jake out of the way and steals his crush, played by Veronika Slowikowska.<\/p>\n 5. Brunson nearly breaks character during airport sketch with Mikey Day<\/p>\n The closest Brunson was to breaking all night was during a bit called \u201cAirport Massage Chairs,\u201d which is all you need to know, really, about the five-minute sketch. Brunson was \u201cDavid,\u201d stuck in a long layover at the airport with \u201cPatrick,\u201d played by Mikey Day. The two guys enjoyed\u00a0 the massage chairs … a bit too much. Brunson didn\u2019t fully break character\u2014but he cracked a couple of smiles throughout the ridiculous sketch.\u00a0<\/p>\n 4. Brunson plays the part of Shark Tank investor<\/p>\n On a panel with two other \u201csharks\u201d on the hit entrepreneurial show Shark Tank, Brunson\u2014rocking a giant top hat\u2014heard a pitch from \u201cDimitri Dinkle\u201d and \u201cDiedrich Poomfant\u201d on what they insist was a very feminist-minded invention dubbed \u201cRespectables.\u201d Brunson wasn\u2019t in at first, but he spun his own take on the product and eventually offered $50 million for the other side of the business.<\/p>\n 3. Brunson opens up at men\u2019s support group<\/p>\n The Knicks\u2019 star played one of six guys at a men\u2019s support group who all witnessed their wives and girlfriends be called up on stage at the Chris Brown and Usher tour. Nothing more needs to be said about this sketch, we\u2019ll let Brunson take it from here:<\/p>\n NEXT: The Best Athlete \u2018SNL\u2019 Moments This Century As Jalen Brunson Prepares to Take Stage<\/a>2. Brunson\u2019s SNL monologue<\/p>\n \u201cTonight I\u2019m going to approach hosting the same way I approach a Knicks Finals game\u2014the first three quarters are going to be godawful; the last sketch is going to be amazing,\u201d Brunson joked during his SNL opening act.<\/p>\n Nailed it.\u00a0<\/p>\n Throughout the five-minute monologue, Brunson also joked that all he\u2019ll be able to think of during ring night at Madison Square Garden is the fact that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce got married there a few months prior. He also encountered Stephen A. Smith (played by Kenan Thompson), who apologized for doubting him when he first signed with the Knicks in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n For the rest of the monologue, Brunson dished to his teammates:<\/p>\n 1.\u00a0 Cameos from Knicks teammates<\/p>\n The best part of the episode, without a doubt, was the cameos from the rest of the Knicks\u2019 starting five\u2014Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart\u2014during Brunson\u2019s opening monologue.\u00a0<\/p>\n It started with Towns, who asked Brunson if it\u2019s possible to foul out of SNL. \u201cSo I could be here, like, the whole show?\u201d <\/p>\n NBA Championship Power Rankings: Where Does Your Favorite Team Stack Up?<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Bridges fished for a compliment on his wingspan, and Anunoby made sure to remind Brunson about what happened at the end of Game 4 of the Finals<\/a>: \u201cRemember in Game 4 when you took that shot at the end, and you missed it?\u201d<\/p>\n Hart, of course, closed it out. Brunson brought up the viral clip of Hart getting a bit too close and personal<\/a> during their NBA Cup championship celebration, and he also reminded Hart of his missed layup in the closing minutes of Game 4.<\/p>\n \u201cAI be looking so real these days, bro!\u201d Hart quipped.<\/p>\n Jalen Brunson, KAT, OG, MIKAL & JOSH HART ON SNL\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02 pic.twitter.com\/b5Jsb53IaP<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 MAL (@MindOfBron) September 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Brunson closed out the night on stage next to his teammates, the SNL cast and musical guest Katseye\u2014with most wearing Knicks gear. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to get back to my real job pretty soon,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cHave a great night, ya\u2019ll. Appreciate ya\u2019ll.\u201d<\/p>\n Thank you, KATSEYE, Ramy Youssef, Karl Anthony-Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart. Goodnight! pic.twitter.com\/ohjGsP4W8q<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) September 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n PODCAST\u00a0\ud83c\udfa7: Listen to SI\u2019s NBA podcast,\u00a0Open Floor, below or on\u00a0Apple<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Spotify<\/a>. Watch the show on\u00a0SI\u2019s YouTube channel<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\"){kind=icon}
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