Anthony Edwards Should Host SNL

Jalen Brunson will host the season 52 premiere of Saturday Night Live on September 26. It’s a fitting way for the king of New York City to cap off his dreamlike summer after guiding the New York Knicks to the franchise’s first NBA Championship since 1973.

Now, he’ll stand before a live audience in Studio 8H at Rockefeller Center and make jokes for 90 minutes, with millions of people watching around the world. He can hit a floater over Victor Wembanyama, but can he hit his mark and read a cue card at the same time?

I imagine the episode will go something like this. Brunson will come out to rapturous applause from the New York crowd. He’ll be in the middle of his monologue, and Josh Hart will come out or be in the audience and ask him a question, then stop for applause. Then Karl-Anthony Towns will pop out from the crowd. Then probably OG Anunoby with a reference to his iconic tip-in. And then, in some way or another, the rest of the Knicks roster will make their way to the stage with coach Mike Brown to take a bow before the promise of a great show ahead with KATSEYE performing.

The rest of the show will probably be very New York-centric. Mariska Hargitay will almost appear in some SVU-inspired sketch. Ben Stiller or Chalamet will probably come by. And Brunson will head into the 2026-27 NBA season as the face of New York City.

Athletes have a very shaky history of hosting SNL. You never quite know what you’re going to get. At face value, Jalen Brunson wouldn’t be most people’s first choice among basketball players to host a live sketch comedy show. He’s stoic, with a very dry sense of humor that comes out when he’s making fun of his dad or Josh Hart. Anthony Edwards is the athlete who should be at the top of every list to host SNL in the future.

Edwards is the most naturally charismatic star athlete we have right now. He basically already filmed his audition with his Minnatlantasota late-night talk show host bit for the launch of his new AE 3 shoe this month. In the bit, Ant roasts LeBron James for not choosing Minnesota in his free agency this summer. Edwards made fun of Jaylen Brown’s hairline, new teammate LaMelo Ball’s driving ability, and even Jalen Brunson’s dad, Rick, caught a stray.

https://twitter.com/adidasHoops/status/2100586756152414228?s=20

Comedy has been part of Ant’s mythos since Day 1 in the NBA. From ordering food during his post-game press conferences to his day-to-day interactions with fans and the media, you knew he was genuinely funny. So who better to host the preeminent sketch comedy show than Anthony Edwards?

Here’s how I think a hypothetical Timberwolves-themed SNL episode hosted by Anthony Edwards would go.

The monologue would go as they almost always do. Edwards would come out to greet the audience. He’d stand on the stage like a stand-up comedian and make jokes for 3 to 5 minutes. The best part of Ant as a pseudo stand-up comedian is that he has no fear of ripping the band-aid off and going after his competitors or his teammates. He already made plenty of LeBron jokes. He could go after Victor Wembanyama, who beat the Timberwolves in the second round of the playoffs last season. The Denver Nuggets provided Edwards with his greatest accomplishment to date in his NBA career when the Wolves vanquished the reigning champs in seven games in the 2024 playoffs.

The Kawhi Leonard Aspiration scandal would be ripe for a few barbs about Uncle Dennis, Steve Ballmer, Kawhi, and even Pablo Torre. Then he could turn his attention to his teammates. He could take aim at LaMelo’s driving again or the video of his Charlotte penthouse looking like a 12-year-old who was transformed into an adult who makes $40 million a year, big-style. Jaden McDaniels has many faces. Rudy Gobert’s general Frenchness, cement hands, conspiracy theories, and much more.

In the meat of the show, Edwards, Chris Finch, and Tim Connelly compete on Black Jeopardy. Adam Sandler, his friend from the movie Hustle, could stop by for a sketch. Kenan Thompson would have to bring back his LaVar Ball impression with guest star LaMelo Ball. Two performances by Ant’s brother BDifferent. A reunion with Karl-Anthony Towns. Anthony Edwards would be game for whatever weird stuff the writers would throw at him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTTwNPB64PA

The best part is that second-year cast member Tommy Brennan is from Minnesota and a huge Timberwolves fan, and understands Edwards’ appeal and the relationship between Edwards and Timberwolves fans. The only downside is that the censors would be working overtime to make sure Edwards doesn’t swear on air.

An athlete hosting SNL is rare. Jalen Brunson is the first athlete to host the show since Travis Kelce in March 2023 and the first NBA player to host since LeBron James in 2007. Brunson will do well as the king of New York. But if they really want to bring the house down, Anthony Edwards should host SNL.