1) Connie Hawkins plays Paul Simon one-on-one (Oct. 18, 1975)

The relationship between the NBA and Saturday Night Live goes all the way back to the program’s second ever airing in 1975. Weekend Update anchor Chevy Chase throws it to Marv Albert on the scene of a one-on-one match-up between four-time NBA All-Star Connie Hawkins and legendary singer/songwriter Paul Simon, who was the episode’s host and musical guest. The joke, of course, is that the un-athletic, 5’3″ Simon uses an array of smooth skills and trickery to pull out the unlikely win over the 6’8″ Hawkins. Just a week after this aired, Hawkins began his final NBA season, retiring at the conclusion of ’75-’76 due to knee issues.

2) Bill Russell hosts (Nov. 3, 1979)

Bill Russell became the first basketball player to to host Saturday Night Live a full 10 years after his playing career had ended. But it was fortuitous timing, even if unintentional, as his hosting appearance came just a few weeks after Magic Johnson and Larry Bird made their pro debuts, ushering in a new era of NBA cultural relevance. Plus, Russell had hardly receded from the spotlight since his retirement, spend the interim decade vacillating between television color commentary and coaching. Russell’s most notable sketch was his turn as a basketball coach in “The Black Shadow,” a parody of then popular CBS show The White Shadow. Though Russell was the first basketball star to host, he was the third overall athlete, following Fran Tarkenton and O.J. Simpson.

3) Various Inside the NBA sketches

Though it was a near instant cultural phenomenon, it took almost a decade of Inside the NBA airing for Saturday Night Live to parody the analysis program. Finding the right person to portray Charles Barkley was obviously crucial, and Keenan Thompson was the first to nail it physically and in timbre, while Bill Hader also served as a perfect Ernie Johnson. Kenny Smith was later dropped into the mix but the addition of Shaquille O’Neal served as some real inspiration for the SNL writers. His most common impressionists was former cast member Jay Pharoah, but O’Neal was also hilariously portrayed at different points by the diminutive Kevin Hart and by Barkley himself.

4) Carmelo Anthony stops by (Apr. 2, 2011)

Just a few weeks into his first season as a member of the Knicks, Carmelo Anthony codified his New York celebrity status by descending on 30 Rockefeller Plaza to guest star in an episode hosted by Elton John. He appeared in one live skit, a non-speaking role as female shot putter Carmela St. Knix, and made a pre-filmed cameo as himself in the digital short Laser Cats: The Musical. The cameo duties didn’t seem to affect his game much, as Anthony dropped 39 points the next night in Indianapolis, albeit in a Knicks loss to the Pacers.

5) Manute Bol’s Majestic Caribbean cruise (Sep. 13, 1994)

Right after an opening monologue from host Kelsey Grammer, SNL viewers were treated to a surreal appearance from NBA center Manute Bol. A towering figure in the league, literally and figuratively, Bol’s height (7’7″) and stature (just 200 pounds) made him an easily recognizable figure, with a reach extending even beyond NBA circles. His cameo was as himself, being a confounding presence in a commercial for Majestic cruise lines. While a married couple enjoys the standard cruise amenities, the announcer extolled the virtues of having Bol in tow, most inexplicably in their cabin while they enjoy breakfast in bed. 31 years old at the time and struggling physically from the on-court toll inflicted on his slight frame, Bol was at the end of his career when the sketch aired. In fact, he wasn’t even on a roster at that point, though he would subsequently sign with the Warriors and play five games in ’94-’95 before retiring.

6) Michael Jordan hosts (Sep. 28, 1991)
7) LeBron James hosts (Sep. 29, 2007)

Aside from the force of personality that is Charles Barkley, an SNL hosting gig has only been bestowed on arguably the two best players in NBA history, Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Both made appearances that were surprisingly funny and seamless integrations. Jordan’s high point was appearing as himself in the long-running Daily Affirmations sketches, where he had to admit self-doubt through gritted teeth to Al Franken’s Stuart Smalley character. James played himself a couple times as well, but also got to immerse himself in some funny characters, displaying the comedy chops he would later expound in the film Trainwreck. Due to the NBA schedule mostly overlapping with the SNL one, both Jordan and James hosted in the season opener and as a likely result, were both on hand for all-timer musical performances, Public Enemy and Kanye West, respectively.

“When [Norm] Macdonald later observed the Bulls All-Star drinking and carousing at a New York club late into the night, he reportedly bet a huge sum on the Knicks to cover a game four matinee later that day.”

8) The other Tesh brother’s “Roundball Rock” lyrics (Apr. 13, 2013)

Just how popular was John Tesh’s theme song for NBA coverage on NBC? So popular that over a decade after the network lost its broadcasting rights, “Roundball Rock” could still be a recognizable centerpiece of a Saturday Night Live sketch. It came from the mind of the indomitable Tim Robinson, a Pistons fan and then featured player, who portrays Tesh’s lesser known brother Dave, melodramatically singing the inane lyrics “Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-basketball! Gimme, gimme the ball, cause I’m gonna dunk it!” With “Roundball Rock” making its official return in 2025 as part of NBC’s new broadcasting deal, the sketch has found its way all over social media and even into a TV ad hyping the ’25-’26 NBA season.

9) MC Hammer as Wilt Chamblerlain (Dec. 7, 1991)

If you were an NBA fan in the early ’90s, you maybe knew Wilt Chamberlain for all his incredible accomplishments and record setting performances on the court. But you were definitely aware of Chamberlain’s claim that he had sex with at least 20,000 women during his life. First stated by the former star center in his 1991 autobiography A View from Above, the dubious assertion was an immediate source of comedy fodder. That included Chamberlain’s first portrayal on Saturday Night Live, as played by that week’s host and musical guest MC Hammer. Fumbling around on a comically long pair of fake legs, Hammer depicts Chamberlain as a brooding Lothario, bemoaning the end of his relationship with a girl who was still in his hotel bathroom.

10) Kris Humphries and Lamar Odom spoofed for their Kardashian connections (Nov. 5, 2011)

The Kardashian-verse has scooped up and spit out some real NBA talent over the years. That includes Kris Humphries, who married eldest daughter Kim in an elaborate, made-for-TV spectacle in August of 2011. Concurrently, Lamar Odom was starring in Khloe & Lamar, a reality series detailing his married life with middle sister Khloe. A SNL parody was inevitable and it aired in late 2011, with Jay Pharoah as Odom and Andy Samberg as Humphries in the reality show parody Kim’s Fairytale Divorce. The sketch was memorable inasmuch only for its timing, as Kim had announced her divorce from Humphries less than a week prior to air. Relatedly, Odom and Humphries both saw their NBA careers take a heavy dip after these fiascos.

11) Host JJ Watt says goodbye in a Kobe Bryant jersey (Feb. 2, 2020)

Kobe Bryant never appeared himself on Saturday Night Live (he was impersonated in a sketch once, by Finesse Mitchell), but the host and cast paid tribute in the wake of his untimely death. In the first episode to air after Bryant’s tragic helicopter crash, NFL player JJ Watt was the host and he donned a #24 Lakers jersey to bid goodbye to the audience. In a tribute befitting any fan of his age (millennial), Watt then crumpled up a notecard into a ball, and shot it into the air in a high arc while yelling “Kobe!” Several cast members also wore Lakers or Bryant gear behind Watt as a memorial.

12) Dennis Rodman ruins Norm Macdonald’s weekend (May 11, 1996)

With the Bulls in town for games three and four of an Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Knicks, Saturday Night Live took a chance on Dennis Rodman’s availability and the incautious star leaped at the opportunity to party with celebrities. Rodman appeared in the cold open as himself, becoming an unlikely and outlandish running mate to then presidential candidate Bob Dole, played by Norm Macdonald. When Macdonald later observed the Bulls All-Star drinking and carousing at a New York club late into the night, he reportedly bet a huge sum on the Knicks to cover a game four matinee later that day. But Rodman, who was infamous for his ability to perform at his best when hung over, finished the game with 19 rebounds and the Bulls won 94-91 to take a 3-1 series lead. Rodman came back to SNL one more time in 2013, performing again as himself in a sketch featuring Horatio Sanz as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

13) Keegan-Michael Key as Michael Jordan in The Last Dance (May 15, 2021)

Due to its compelling interviews and fortuitous release timing (during COVID-19 lock downs), The Last Dance was a cultural phenomenon to a magnitude that SNL couldn’t ignore. But they needed a credible Michael Jordan impersonator and finally got one a full year later in sketch comedy legend Keegan-Michael Key. As a nod to the long wait time, the sketch began with a voice over explaining that we’re about to see extended footage from the documentary. Cut to a parody of one of the most memorable scenes in The Last Dance, wherein the hyper-competitive Jordan gambled on an impromptu game with United Center security guards. In this version, Key’s Jordan ramps up the competitiveness exponentially, leading to his increasingly harried security guard opponent giving up his cash, pants, gun, and even his glasses. Of course, it also provides an opportunity for Keenan Thompson to pop in as Charles Barkley.

14) Charles Barkley hosts (Sep. 25, 1993)

If you ever need a perfectly preserved time capsule of ’90s American culture, look no further than this episode of Saturday Night Live. In addition to cultural titan Barkley, who hosted, you had a much-anticipated performance from Nirvana, appearances by RuPaul and Barney the Dinosaur, impressions of Bill Clinton and Larry King, some casual transphobia, Mike Myers’ Linda Richman character, and the first digital short of what would eventually become the film Office Space. For good measure, throw in some Muggsy Bogues, who appears in a sketch to help boost Barkley’s confidence. At the time this aired, Barkley was coming off the best season of his career, winning league MVP and leading the Suns to the NBA Finals. He wouldn’t host again during his playing career but has returned three times since retiring, consistently proving his status as one of the most effortlessly funny people on television.