Jalen Brunson hosted the September 26 premiere of Saturday Night Live Season 52, with KATSEYE as the musical guest. The Knicks guard brought his teammates into the opening monologue and appeared in sketches about basketball, office life and an old coach. NBC has posted several of those sketches online, including the North High video on this page.
The Knicks joined his opening monologue
Brunson began by talking about New York’s 2026 NBA title. Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart then appeared in the audience and asked him questions. They teased Brunson about moments from the championship run, and he answered without looking rattled. This was his first time hosting the show.
What to watch from the episode
North High puts Brunson on a school basketball team in a musical-style sketch. Fans brought it up repeatedly in discussion threads after the broadcast. Some called it their favorite of the night; others said the best sketches were the ones that let Brunson play basketball or joke about it.
In Office MVP, Brunson plays an employee who tries to impress his coworkers by making a basket. Old Friend pairs him with Kenan Thompson as a former coach who visits him. Both clips are on SNL’s official channel. The show also released Dream Academy, a fake trailer for a second season of the music-competition series.
Fans did not agree on the premiere
The immediate Reddit response was mixed. In the SNL discussion, one viewer called North High the best sketch, while another described the full episode as weak for a premiere. A Knicks fan said the office and school-musical pieces worked but disliked the massage-chair sketch. These comments show which parts people singled out; they do not speak for every viewer.
KATSEYE performed as the episode’s musical guest. The group was not the host: Brunson led the monologue and sketches, while the band supplied the music. The episode also had Weekend Update with Colin Jost and Michael Che, plus a cold open about New York politics. The new season continues October 3 with Dakota Johnson hosting and Turnstile performing, according to NBC’s announced schedule.
Saturday Night Live airs on NBC in the United States. Peacock says it carries the show live and next day, and its series page has past episodes. Availability outside the U.S. can differ. The Pixel Twelve show page gathers the current viewing information, official clips and more images from this premiere.
