Josh Hart showed up to Saturday Night Live to support Jalen Brunson when the NBA Finals MVP hosted this past weekend. He even cameoed during his opening monologue and came out during the closing credits. It’s the level of support you’d expect from a teammate, podcast co-star and longtime BFF. Saying positive things about how Brunson did, however, was clearly too much for anyone to expect out of Hart.
The popular Knicks player was asked about his buddy Brunson’s SNL performance during the team’s media day earlier this week, and he wasn’t exactly effusive in his praise. In fact, he had a pretty hilarious and blunt assessment of his teammate’s acting performance. Here’s a portion of his quote, which is circulating widely on social media…
I think his performance was fine. I don’t think he has a future in acting.
If this quote came from someone else, I would probably think they had mean-spirited intentions, but Brunson and Hart roast each other in media interviews all the time. In fact, during the SNL monologue, Hart laughed about covertly shoving his finger in Brunson’s butt while he was trying to celebrate after winning the NBA title, and Brunson showed a clip of Hart blowing a layup during a key moment. So, yeah, it’s not like the two, who have been close friends since they attended Villanova together, have a relationship built on thoughtful compliments and non-stop positivity.
Real talk though, Brunson was perfectly fine on SNL. He didn’t put himself in the Charles Barkley and Peyton Manning echelon of fantastic athlete hosts, but he represented himself well enough. He remembered his lines, had some funny moments and hit a big shot with a pizza wrapper during a sketch that was as clutch as anything he’s ever done on an NBA floor. I’d say, all in all, that’s a pretty big win for something that was clearly out of his comfort zone.
As for Josh Hart, however, he could have a future in acting, or at least as a talking head on television. He made the most of the lines he had on SNL and consistently shows during his media interactions that he’s got so much personality. He would be a great option on an Inside The NBA style show where he could do a combination of analyzing games and having some laughs at the expense of himself and other people.
As for Brunson’s day job, the Knicks are officially back at practice and preparing for the 2026-2027 NBA Season. They, of course, brought home the city’s first NBA Championship since the early 1970s and are hoping to potentially repeat their success. Their first game is at home on October 20th, and the crowd is widely expected to be as moneyed and famous as usual with a ton of A-listers in attendance.
