Mariska Hargitay cheered on the New York Knicks at Game 3 of the NBA Finals on June 8, and the Law & Order: SVU star’s postgame moment with star point guard Jalen Brunson underscored one of basketball’s most unlikely friendships. The Knicks won 120-105 at Madison Square Garden, taking a commanding 3-0 series lead over the San Antonio Spurs.
Hargitay and Brunson have become known for exchanging warm hugs after games—a ritual that stands out among the celebrity courtside crowd. The bond between them began when Brunson learned that Hargitay was the star of a show he grew up watching. “I just remember my dad always watching the show,” Brunson told Ben Stiller on his podcast. “It was like, you just hear the iconic ‘dun-dun’ all the time in the house.” He added that as he got older, he watched SVU more and more, and when he finally met Hargitay, he was starstruck. “I’ve never been like super super like starstruck—super starstruck,” he recalled. “I saw her, I was like ‘Oh s—.’ The first time we met, it was awesome.”
Their friendship has deepened over the past two years, with Brunson and his wife Alison Marks even attending the premiere of Hargitay’s documentary “My Mom Jayne” at the Tribeca Film Festival last year. Other celebrities have taken notice—Ben Stiller remarked that the postgame hugs Brunson gives Hargitay are “the envy of every other Knicks celebrity game fan.”
Beyond the court, the two have become mutual sources of inspiration. Hargitay recently revealed that Brunson inspired her during her Broadway debut in “Every Brilliant Thing” at the Hudson Theatre. “My friend, my inspiration,” she said of him on the Today show. “I love him. I was so terrified to do my show—I just thought about him, and his inspiration, and his humility, and his work ethic, that I reminded myself: You can do hard things. He is so singular, and magnificent. He’s a magnificent human.” The show, which runs through July 5, marks Hargitay’s first starring role on Broadway.
During their postgame interaction after an earlier Knicks win in May, Brunson made a point of telling Hargitay that he plans to attend her Broadway show once the NBA playoffs conclude. When she asked him about the game, he instead grabbed her by the shoulders and said, “I’ll be there,” referring to her theatrical performance. “That’s how extraordinary he is,” Hargitay told Access Hollywood. “But that’s what he said to me, and I was like, ‘Wait, what?'” She added: “I love that—love him, and I’m so inspired by him. I’ve carried his spirit with me during this.”
Hargitay has also expressed hope that Brunson might one day appear on SVU. When asked about her dream guest stars, she told the Today show: “Two people, and they both start with ‘J.’ Jamie Lee Curtis and my Jalen Brunson.” With the Knicks now one win away from their first NBA title since 1973, the bond between the SVU legend and the Knicks superstar continues to capture fans’ hearts both on and off the court.
Sources
- People.com — Jalen Brunson’s text to Mariska Hargitay after Game 1 and their friendship origin
- Town & Country — Details of their friendship, Brunson’s SVU fandom, and Hargitay’s Broadway inspiration
- NBC Insider — Brunson’s promise to attend Hargitay’s Broadway show and their postgame interactions
- Yahoo Sports — Timeline of their friendship beginning in 2024
- Internal site article — Knicks Game 3 final score and 3-0 series lead
