Fresh off of bringing the New York Knicks their first title in more than 50 years, Jalen Brunson has been tapped to host the season premiere of “Saturday Night Live.” It may have to wait until he retires, but Steph Curry should be the next hooper to take the stage at 30 Rock.
The city that never sleeps has been in the midst of a months-long love-fest with the Knicks since they took down the San Antonio Spurs in June. Over two million people attended the team’s victory parade, Karl-Anthony Towns had a star-studded guest list to his wedding, including celebrity super-fans Ben Stiller and Timothee Chalamet, and best of all, owner James Dolan didn’t release a single piece of music.
Brunson will be joined by musical guest Katseye, which is a “global girl group” and not a Third Eye Blind cover band fronted by Karl-Anthony Towns. Don’t be surprised if Brunson’s Villanova buddies Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges cameo in a sketch, probably about Domingo, but Forever Warrior Donte DiVincenzo will probably be too busy rehabbing his Achilles tear to make an appearance.
The reigning Finals MVP will be the fifth NBA player to host the show, following in the footsteps of LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell (he was retired), and Charles Barkley, who has hosted four times, one short of legendary Five-Timers’ Club status. He’s following in the footsteps of New York Knicks forward and future U.S. Senator Bill Bradley, who appeared on the show’s second episode ever to present a trophy to host Paul Simon, after a short film featuring Simon defeating Hall of Famer Connie Hawkins in a game of one-on-one.
While Brunson is quite popular in NYC, he hasn’t displayed the same kind of comedic chops as Curry, who has hosted the ESPY’s and appeared in his own mockumentary series, “Mr. Throwback.”
Curry has starred in New York for years, going 12-1 at Madison Square Garden. He scored 54 points in a 2013 game and broke the all-time three-point record during a game in 2021. Even as a visiting player, Curry has received a lot of love from the fans of New York, dating back to when his Davidson Wildcats upset West Virginia in the Garden during his final year of college.
More than that, Curry has shown he’s comfortable on camera, and unlike Russell or James, he’s much easier to fit into a camera shot with normal-sized SNL cast members, standing 6-foot-3. He’s got a lot of Li Ning products to promote. Like SNL itself, Curry has had an up-and-down working relationship with Muppets.
But perhaps the biggest motivating factor for Curry to host Saturday Night Live is the chance to best LeBron again. James was only 22 when he hosted the show, but let’s just say he didn’t set a high bar with his acting.
If they’ve both got four rings, the obvious tiebreaker is SNL hosting performance to determine who the greatest of his generation truly is. And when Steph Curry delivers a tour de force performance on “Snack Homiez,” the real G.O.A.T. will be obvious.
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