Jalen Brunson to Host Season 52 of Saturday Night Live

NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson, who helped the New York Knicks win their first championship since 1973, is scheduled to host the opening episode of the 52nd season of Saturday Night Live on Saturday, NBC announced. Brunson becomes the fifth former NBA player to host the program, following Bill Russell, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and LeBron James.

The episode also introduces two new featured cast members, Saidah Belo-Osagie and Grace Reiter, after the departure of cast member Chloe Fineman and writer Martin Herlihy, both of whom appeared in recent sketches. Fineman is set to appear in the upcoming Netflix drama series Myron Bolitar, based on Harlan Coben’s novels.

K-pop-influenced group Katseye will perform as the musical guest. The act, formed through a partnership between Geffen Records and South Korea’s HYBE Entertainment, typically performs as a quintet or quartet.

Saturday Night Live airs on NBC, a division of NBCUniversal, which also owns NBC News.