Saturday Night Live returned for its 52nd season on September 26 with New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson as host and KATSEYE as the musical guest. The episode marked the first SNL hosting appearance for Brunson and KATSEYE's debut as the show's musical guest. NBC announced the pairing earlier this month as part of the first group of hosts and performers for the new season.
Brunson arrived at Studio 8H only a few months after leading the Knicks to their first NBA championship since 1973. He was named the 2026 NBA Finals MVP after averaging 32.6 points per game during the Finals.
Basketball played a major role throughout the season premiere.
Brunson joked during his opening monologue about treating the show like an NBA Finals game. Kenan Thompson appeared during the monologue as ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith. The sketch played on Smith's past doubts about Brunson and the Knicks.
Several of Brunson's teammates then surprised the audience. Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges joined OG Anunoby and Josh Hart in asking Brunson questions from the crowd. Brunson also appeared in several basketball-themed sketches.
One pre-recorded segment spoofed High School Musical. Brunson played a new student whose basketball skills were far beyond those of the other players.
The season premiere opened with a political sketch featuring Ramy Youssef returning as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. James Austin Johnson portrayed President Donald Trump while Ashley Padilla appeared as Trump aide Natalie Harp.
KATSEYE performed "Animal" and "Hootie Frutti" during the episode. The group also appeared in a pre-recorded comedy sketch based on Dream Academy.
The sketch was fitting because KATSEYE was formed through the Dream Academy competition created through a partnership between HYBE and Geffen Records. In the SNL version the group appeared as themselves while the show spoofed the process of creating a new girl group.
The premiere also introduced new SNL featured players Grace Reiter and Saidah Belo-Osagie.
Brunson joined a small group of NBA players who have hosted Saturday Night Live. Previous NBA hosts include Bill Russell and Michael Jordan along with Charles Barkley and LeBron James. Brunson became the first NBA player to host the program since James in 2007.
The September 26 episode launched the 52nd season of the long-running NBC comedy series.