Saturday Night Live
From Hoopedia
In the long history of NBC's Saturday Night Live, only four basketball players have hosted. Apparently basketball players aren't so entertaining off the court, since none of them have been asked to return to guest host. Of course, professional wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is the only professional "athlete" to appear more than once, so maybe the problem is common to all athletes.
Basketball Hosts
- Bill Russell, November 3, 1979
- Michael Jordan, September 28, 1991
- Charles Barkley, September 25, 1993
- LeBron James, September 29, 2007
Jordan Gets Help
The most memorable skit featuring one of these hosts involved self-help guru Stuart Smalley (played by Al Franken) and Michael Jordan.
Stuart tells Michael that he probably wakes up at night, saying to himself "I'm not good enough, everybody's better than me, I'm not going to score any points." Jordan answers with an emphatic, "No."
Stuart then tells Michael to look at himself in the mirror and recite this affirmation: "Hello, Michael. I don't have to be a great basketball player. I don't have to dribble fast or throw the ball in the basket. All I have to do is be the best Michael I can be." As Jordan does so, looking directly into the camera, he can hardly contain his amusement at the absurdity of the words.
