Key Takeaways
- – Mariska Hargitay and Jalen Brunson celebrated the Knicks’ Eastern Conference Finals Game 2 win by sharing a joyful on‑court hug.
- – Hargitay hopes to bring Brunson, as well as Jamie Lee Curtis, onto Law & Order: SVU as guest stars and believes their appearances will eventually happen.
- – Their friendship began after Hargitay learned Brunson was a longtime SVU fan, leading to a close bond that even includes familiarity with his family.
Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks are one step closer to reaching the NBA Finals — and nobody is more excited than Mariska Hargitay.
In a May 21 Instagram post shared by the NBA, the Knicks, and Hargitay, cameras caught the longtime Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star embrace her friend, Knicks superstar guard Brunson, on the court after the team’s 109-93 Eastern Conference Finals Game 2 win at Madison Square Garden.
The caption declared the two “were all smiles” after the big victory — and the video says it all.
After exchanging a quick hug, the two had a quick conversation before hugging once more. Hargitay looked overjoyed to be congratulating Brunson, especially now that the Knicks are only two wins away from reaching the NBA’s championship round.
Jalen Brunson, #11, of the New York Knicks dribbles the ball against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the third quarter in Game Two of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden on May 21, 2026 in New York City; Mariska Hargitay smiles during the game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks during Game 2 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals on May 21, 2026 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Photo: Sarah Stier/Getty Images; Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images
The comment section was filled with love for the two stars, with one popular message among SVU fans saying, “We gotta get Jalen a cameo in next season of SVU.” Another dubbed them, “Members of an ELITE SQUAD,” while one more jokingly quipped, “Jalen about to be a visiting detective on SVU!!!!”
And, as Hargitay recently teased, that scenario may come true sooner than later.
During a May 2026 interview with TODAY‘s Savannah Guthrie, the Law & Order: SVU icon revealed that Brunson and actress Jamie Lee Curtis are on her bucket list for future guest-starring roles on the show. Even better, Hargitay (who is an executive producer on SVU) explained that she thinks the dream will one day become a reality.
“I think they’re both gonna happen,” Hargitay said. “They’re both a little bit busy right now, but I’ll wait, I’ll wait.”
Actor Ben Stiller, a well-known Knicks superfan as well, also shared the video to his X account alongside the caption “Love this relationship.”
The star of the upcoming film Focker-In-Law — the fourth movie in the Meet the Parents franchise, hitting theaters on November 25, 2026 — has been hilariously been labeled as “jealous” after responding to a clip of Hargitay’s June 2025 visit to Late Night with Seth Meyers.
Stiller wrote, “That’s cool, I guess? Whatever,” after Hargitay explained that she’s the only celeb who gets a hug from the NBA star.
How Law & Order: SVU led to Mariska Hargitay and Jalen Brunson’s friendship
Jalen Brunson and Mariska Hargitay attend the “My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay” Premiere during the 2025 Tribeca Festival at Carnegie Hall on June 13, 2025 in New York City.Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival
As a major Knicks fan, Hargitay regularly attends home games, but how did she and Brunson become so close? Well, during that same June 2025 visit to Late Night with Seth Meyers, the star revealed how the friendship began — and why she is frequently the only celebrity Brunson hugs post-game.
“I said Jalen, bring it in,” she jokingly told Seth Meyers before telling the real story.
“How it started was they let me know that Jalen was a big fan, and I was so flattered and thrilled, because I was such a huge fan,” Hargitay explained. “I think Jalen sort of grew up on SVU… I think he felt this, as many people do, intimacy and safety that one does growing up on SVU.”
The bond runs so deep that Hargitay is on a first-name basis with Brunson’s father.
“I call him Rick. We’re close like that,” she said with a laugh. “It feels like the biggest name drop.”