NBC Is Bringing The Law & Order: SVU Guest That Everybody Wants

Published Sep 21, 2026, 8:31 AM EDT

Laura Hurley has been writing about the entertainment industry for more than twelve years, after a decade as a content producer and editor at CinemaBlend after writing for WhatCulture and Examiner. Attending events like SCAD TVfest and San Diego Comic-Con over the course of her career, she has been immersed in the world of network, streaming, and cable TV. 

Sign in to your ScreenRant account

Law & Order: SVU is all set to return for season 28 in October, and the long-running drama will hit a major milsetone on NBC before too long. In fact, the fall of NBC's complete schedule is stacked for Mariska Hargitay. After she hosted the 78th Emmy Awards in September, she'll welcome a fun guest star to SVU just in time for the 600th episode to air. The leading lady of the past 28 years is already hyping his arrival.

With just weeks left to go before Law & Order: SVU season 28 arrives, one of Hargitay's real-life friends has been confirmed to join Captain Olivia Benson in primetime. It's not a case of Christopher Meloni reprising his role as Elliot Stabler yet again, nor of Taylor Swift turning her SVU sketch from the Emmys into a reality. Instead, a member of the New York Knicks is coming to Benson's world of investigating sexually-based offenses that are considered especially heinous.

Law & Order: SVU Season 28 Will Bring In Jalen Brunson

Credit: Bleacher Report

SVU has featured plenty of famous guest stars over the 594 episodes that have aired so far, and some haven't even been actors by trade. Ice-T himself was better known for his music than for acting before he joined the cast of SVU in 2000. Jalen Brunson, fresh off of winning the title of the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, doesn't need to be an experienced TV actor to fit into the drama opposite Hargitay.

Jalen Brunson is officially appearing in Law & Order: SVU season 28 as a guest star this fall. NBC confirmed the news to Variety that his episode will air in November. That means that he'll start the fall TV season on the network by hosting Saturday Night Live's season 52 premiere in September, before joining SVU just in time for the holiday season.

Brunson is best known for his work as a point guard for the New York Knicks, as opposed to any kind of acting career. The Knicks' uphill battle for the championship in the 2025-2026 NBA season resulted in many stars coming out to celebrate the city's professional basketball team, and Mariska Hargitay was one of them.

This fall, Brunson is coming to Hargitay's home court, not long after he joined her at the very beginning of her opening sketch at the Emmy Awards. His episode is expected to air on November 5, which places it just before the 600th episode. Fans will have less than a month of season 28 to wait before seeing Brunson on screen as an actor rather than a point guard.

Why Jalen Brunson's Law & Order: SVU Appearance Is Special

NBC

Law & Order: SVU has a long history of recruiting major guest stars, some of which have even won Emmys for their work opposite Mariska Hargitay. While Jalen Brunson likely isn't going to be a major awards contender for however he contributes to SVU in season 28, joining the show is already bound to be a special experience for him, and that goes down to his connection to the leading lady.

Hargitay's love for the New York Knicks became widely known in 2026, when the team worked its way through the playoffs to become NBA champions for the first time since 1973. She was often court side to support the team, and even sprinted to Madison Square Garden for Game 4 of the Finals immediately after finishing a performance on Broadway. She explained her race to the arena to The Hollywood Reporter, saying:

I took four minutes off the running time of my show, and I knew the traffic would be crazy, so I sprinted from the Hudson Theater on 44th and 6th to MSG. But I knew everything was going to be alright, because I was wearing my Jalen Brunson Kobe 5 Protos that Jalen gave me a few months ago. But I’m not gonna lie, the ten block sprint after a 2-show day was no joke.

She joined Taylor Swift to watch the Knicks make a shocking comeback, and told the outlet that "it might have been the greatest night of my life." She celebrated by joining the players on the court with hugs for Brunson and his teammates.

The affection has also been mutual, going back to well before Brunson joined Hargitay for her first time hosting the Emmy Awards. In fact, even before Hargitay went all-out to support the Knicks in their bid to win the 2026 NBA Finals, Brunson opened up about his status as a longtime fan of Law & Order: SVU on The Roommates Show podcast. He credited his dad, former Knicks superstar Rick Brunson, for introducing him to the show:

I just remember my dad always watching the show. It was like you just hear the iconic 'dun dun' all the time. My dad also watched the TV incredibly loud, so I started from like season 1, watched all the way through. It was like a pre-game show for me. I've always loved that show. I've never been super, super star-struck. I saw her, I was like, 'Oh, shit.' And then the first time we met, it was awesome.

New York City is basically a character on Law & Order: SVU itself, and the drama often employs local Broadway stars to play characters. The New York Knicks MVP is certainly coming to SVU with a higher profile than the average theater performer, but Brunson being cast for the new season is just another example of how the show makes the most of what matters to NYC.

Who Jalen Brunson Might Play In Law & Order: SVU

NBC

Now that NBC has confirmed Jalen Brunson will guest-star on SVU, and even confirmed that his episode will air in early November, the big question concerns how exactly he'll be involved. The biggest guest stars in the history of Law & Order: SVU have usually either played perps or victims, but there have also been exceptions, and Brunson doesn't have the kind of acting credits that guarantee he'll be playing a major dramatic role. It's possible that he'll appear on SVU as himself.

Back in season 13, NBA stars Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh both played themselves for quick cameos in an episode. The odds seem good that Brunson will appear in a similar capacity, although it's worth noting that SVU has changed showrunners several times over between that episode of season 13 and the upcoming 28th season. There is also an exception to the rule of athletes playing themselves. Tennis superstar Serena Williams played a college basketball player in a season 5 episode. It wasn't a particularly large role in the episode, but she was neither a perp nor a victim.

It's even possible that Brunson was recruited to play an in-universe celebrity, without necessarily playing himself. Still, considering that his episode will air shortly after the beginning of the 2026-2027 NBA season, the timing could be just right for him to play himself and promote the Knicks. That would likely be less demanding than him actually performing as a character for the first time on a network TV show, and an episode that airs just weeks after Game 1 of the Knicks' new season seems like an unlikely time for him to play a perp anyway.

For now, the wait continues for Law & Order: SVU season 28 to arrive on NBC. The premiere will air on Thursday, October 8 at 9 p.m. ET, between The Traitors: New Blood at 8 p.m. ET and Law & Order season 26 at 10 p.m. ET.

Enjoy ScreenRant's primetime coverage? Click below to sign up for my weekly Network TV newsletter (make sure to check "Network TV" in your preferences) and get the inside scoop from actors and showrunners on your favorite series.

SIGN UP NOW!