Saturday Night Live officially kicked off its landmark 52nd season with a heavy dose of New York sports culture and sharp political satire, featuring NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson making his hosting debut alongside musical guest Katseye.
Brunson, who led the New York Knicks to an unforgettable NBA championship victory earlier this year—marking the franchise’s first title since 1973—wasted no time bringing his athletic background into his opening monologue. Playing on the high-stakes drama of professional basketball, the star point guard joked about his strategy for surviving his first time hosting the iconic late-night sketch comedy show.
"Tonight I’m gonna approach hosting in the same way I approach a Knicks finals game; so the first three quarters of the show are gonna be god awful. The last sketch is gonna be amazing," Brunson told the studio audience. He continued with a nod to his historic summer, adding, "This summer, I helped the Knicks win the NBA championship. By now, you’ve all heard me talk about it, but you haven’t heard me sing about it… And obviously I’m not going to."
The host also couldn’t resist poking fun at the off-season headlines surrounding Madison Square Garden, making a wry reference to the high-profile summer wedding of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce at the legendary arena.
"The new season is just a couple of weeks away, and I gotta say, it’s gonna be pretty cool to be back at Madison Square Garden. Looking around like, wow, just a few months ago, this was the exact spot where Taylor and Travis got married," Brunson quipped.
To show their support for their star teammate during his SNL debut, the entire Knicks starting five—consisting of Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges—was seated in the audience. True to form, Brunson opened the floor to a brief question-and-answer session with the crowd, allowing his teammates to step into the comedic spotlight.
Karl-Anthony Towns kicked off the banter with a basketball-themed query: "Can you foul out of SNL?"
When Brunson replied, "No, I don’t think so," Towns followed up by asking, "I could be here, like, the whole show?"
Josh Hart then chimed in with a more financial inquiry, asking the host, "Is it true that you took a $113 million pay cut just to re-sign with the Knicks?"
After Brunson confirmed, "Yeah, that’s pretty true," Hart quickly followed up with a deadpan question: "Wow. So is that money, like, still up for grabs?"
Following the monologue, the episode’s cold open delivered a heavy punch of political comedy, diving straight into a satirical take on an unexpected dynamic between New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump. Ramy Youssef stepped into the role of Mayor Mamdani, while James Austin Johnson returned to the SNL stage to reprise his widely recognized impersonation of Donald Trump.
The sketch began inside Mamdani’s office, where the mayor was informed he had an unexpected visitor. "What reckless lunatic would travel to see me in this kind of weather?" Mamdani asked.
"Your best friend!" Johnson’s Trump burst in, offering a warm, if bizarre, greeting. "I missed my day one. For some reason that no one can figure out, I really, really like you."
Youssef’s Mamdani quickly pointed out the severe weather conditions battering New York City, telling the faux president, "That’s very kind, but wouldn’t you rather be in D.C.? We’re in the middle of El Niño."
Playing into his signature comedic cadence, Johnson’s Trump responded, "Oh, El Niño, we don’t like big stores, especially when they’re in Spanish." He then recapped his eventful week, telling the mayor, "I kicked out the press and hung out with the president of China, Xi. And yeah, I went brunette. It’s fall!"
The satirical recap continued with nods to recent tech headlines. "There was this crazy AI stuff, too," Trump said. "I just had dinner with Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg, and it made me think, wow, RFK Jr.’s probably right about those vaccines." The sketch also featured a brief appearance by Ashley Padilla as Natalie Harp, executive assistant to President Trump.
As the cold open drew to a close, Mamdani insisted he had to return to city business. "Please let me stay here with you," Johnson’s Trump pleaded.
"OK, only if you give us $21 billion for a housing project in Queens," Mamdani countered.
When a shocked Trump asked, "Are you out of your mind?" Mamdani offered a modern political concession: "What if I follow you back on Instagram?"
"It’s a done deal," Johnson’s Trump concluded.
Later in the broadcast, the Weekend Update segment brought back Jeremy Culhane to reprise his biting Tucker Carlson impersonation. Culhane’s Carlson offered his unfiltered—and thoroughly absurd—takes on the biggest box office hits of the summer season.
Commenting on the thriller Obsession, Culhane joked, "The left’s idea of a horror movie; that a woman is forced to love a man. ‘Oh, no, help! I’m being chased by a heterosexual relationship!’"
Turning his attention to the comic book genre, Carlson offered a take on Spider-Man: Brand New Day. "Everybody loves Spider-Man: Brand New Gender," he declared. When co-anchor Colin Jost interjected to correct him—"That’s not what it’s called"—Culhane’s Carlson doubled down: "Spider-They, Spider-Them, uses whatever bathroom it feels like."
Culhane also took aim at political circles through cinematic metaphor, bringing up Minions & Monsters and clarifying, "I’m not talking about the children’s film, I’m talking about the Trump cabinet. That’s right, I’ve turned on Trump, I’m so brave."
As Season 52 gets underway, Jalen Brunson and Katseye have successfully set the tone for the months ahead as the season’s inaugural host and musical guest pairing. NBC has already lined up a diverse slate of hosts and musical acts for the upcoming weeks. Dakota Johnson is set to host next week’s episode alongside musical guest Turnstile. Following her, comedian Shane Gillis will take the hosting reins on October 10 with musical guest Rosalía, while Obsession star Inde Navarrette will make her SNL hosting debut on the show’s Halloween episode, joined by musical guest Gracie Abrams.