Jalen Brunson opens SNL's 52nd season with four of his NBA champion Knicks teammates in the crowd. The best assists came from the audience.

Saturday Night Live opened its 52nd season with Knicks star Jalen Brunson as host, and he brought four of his NBA champion teammates, the Associated Press reports via WTOP. Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, O.G. Anunoby and Josh Hart sat in the audience for the monologue and took turns asking him questions. Towns wanted to know if you can foul out of SNL. Told you can't, he said, "so I can be here, like, the whole show? Nice." Anunoby, who drew a huge ovation, asked whether Brunson recalled missing a shot late in Game 4 of the NBA Finals against San Antonio. That miss set up a last-second tip-in that all but sealed the game. "That was awesome," Anunoby said. Hart, who co-hosts a podcast with Brunson, asked about the $113 million he left on the bargaining table to sign with the Knicks. Kenan Thompson turned up as ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, who, the bit went, owed Brunson an apology. Brunson is the first active NBA player to host since LeBron James in 2007 and the first pro athlete since Travis Kelce in 2023. "I'm going to approach this the same way I approach a Knicks finals game," he promised, meaning a slow start and a big finish. Then he brought his teammates onstage for one last roar. Here is the lesson. The best moment of the premiere wasn't a sketch. It was five teammates who won something hard together, showing up for one another and laughing at themselves on live television. That's the kind of joy the old variety shows used to run on, and it's why people still stay up for live TV. When the real thing shows up, it's worth clipping and sharing.