Jalen Brunson, fresh off delivering the New York Knicks the franchise’s first NBA title in a half-century, is set to host Saturday Night Live on Sept. 26, the show announced. Musical guest Katseye will join Brunson for the season 52 opener, according to Saturday Night Live.
The program revealed the first four hosts and musical guests for the upcoming season, and Brunson will not be the first athlete to take the Studio 8H spotlight. The first athlete host was then-Minnesota Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton, who guest hosted the 13th episode of the show’s second season.
Many notable sports figures have followed. Dwayne Johnson has hosted five times, more than any other athlete, with his first turn in 2000. John Madden appeared on Sept. 7, 1982, in sketches that referenced his travel and storytelling, while Marvin Hagler co-hosted on May 17, 1986, alongside journalist Jimmy Breslin.
Wayne Gretzky hosted on May 13, 1989, shortly after his first season with the Los Angeles Kings. Chris Evert became the first female athlete to host on Nov. 11, 1989, with musical guest the Eurythmics. Michael Jordan hosted the Sept. 28, 1991 episode, months after winning his first NBA title, appearing with musical guest Public Enemy and performing a sketch titled Daily Affirmations with Stuart Smalley.
Charles Barkley hosted the Sept. 25, 1993 season 19 premiere after winning NBA MVP and reaching the Finals and has returned to host multiple times. Deion Sanders hosted on Feb. 18, 1995, weeks after winning his first Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers. Derek Jeter appeared on Dec. 1, 2001, with musical guests Bubba Sparxxx and Shakira and debated Seth Meyers on Weekend Update. Tom Brady hosted on April 16, 2005, and Peyton Manning hosted on March 24, 2007, with his family in attendance and a noted spoof of NFL United Way; Manning returned in January 2022 for a Weekend Update segment. Ronda Rousey hosted on Jan. 23, 2016.
