New York Knicks captain and point guard Jalen Brunson will look to be clutch in a different kind of court.
Brunson will return to NBC’s airwaves next Thursday, Nov. 5, when he takes on a guest starring role on the long-running police procedural “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” The reigning NBA Finals MVP appeared in a preview that ran at the end of the most recent episode, which can be viewed below.
Brunson appears to be called off the bench by series protagonist and fellow New York Captain Olivia Benson, portrayed by celebrity Knicks fan Mariska Hargitay. In need of “backup” on her latest case, Benson greets Brunson’s “Detective Madison” … a name no doubt familiar to Knick supporters and beyond considering the name of their own precinct of Madison Square Garden.
According to the NBC logline for the episode, Brunson’s turn on the show will be centered around an investigation into an assault that takes place at a wedding reception. It will be the final episode before the series reaches 600 chapters, the latest landmark of longevity for the “Law & Order” spin-off that debuted in 1999.
This will be far from Brunson’s first appearance on NBC for reasons beyond basketball: he appeared in a pre-recorded segment with the hosting Hargitay prior to NBC’s coverage of the Primetime Emmy Awards in September and also headlined the most recent season premiere of another peacock staple, “Saturday Night Live.”
Hargitay teased that Brunson would appear on the show during an August edition of NBC’s “Today,” having previously labeled the point guard a “bucket list” guest star. Behind-the-scenes photos captured Brunson and Hargitay filming scenes for the episode together in Brooklyn last month.
The two metropolitan captains have been seemingly conjoined since Brunson came to New York in 2022: Brunson had been a longtime fan of “SVU” and quickly had the sideline staple Hargitay on his side once he became one of the faces of New York basketball. The two have engaged in several lively postgame encounters and Hargitay later appeared on Brunson’s parade float next to his family at the parade commemorating the Knicks’ NBA Finals triumph.
Brunson isn’t the first New York champion to join the “Law & Order” franchise, as Keith Hernandez and Brandon Jacobs of the respective Mets and Giants previously traded in ball for badge work.
