Charles Barkley may be one of the most unexpected hits as far as SNL hosts go. But the former NBA star opened the sketch comedy show by bringing attention to the athletes that have been using their platforms to take a stand. He even mentioned Laura Ingraham, who recently told LeBron James to "Shut up and dribble."
"Some people don't want to hear from professional athletes, like this lady on Fox News who told LeBron James to 'Shut up and dribble,'" Barkley said, but he couldn't resist throwing a joke in there. "Dribbling is like, there's only four things he's good at: Dribbling, shooting, passing and magically making his hairline come back." Watch the full monologue on Gossip Cop.
Peyton Manning's 2007 episode went down in SNL history and in 2001, a young Derek Jeter killed is. Barkley, not only now a bit of a comedy veteran now, is one of the few repeat hosts that the show repeatedly pokes fun at with Kenan Thompson'sfrequent impression of the retired NBA star. This is Barkley's fourth time hosting SNL, but this is his first time back since 2012.
When he's not laughing over something with Shaq, you can watch him entertain as an analyst on Inside the NBA. The NBA legend also dabbles in acting and a little voice-over work on the side. He recently appeared as himself on We Bare Bears, an animated sitcom on Cartoon Network starring Eric Edelstein, Bobby Moynihan, and Demetri Martin. He had a small role as himself in an episode of Modern Family during the 8th season, where he and DeAndre Jordan attended and placed bets at a charity basketball game. He also, again as himself, appeared in a two-part episode of the Simpsons in 2017.
