Brunson cited an appearance on the police procedural as his next career goal after winning the NBA Finals with the New York Knicks.

Christopher Meloni responds to Jalen Brunson’s Law & Order: SVU casting dream after Knicks championship

Brunson cited an appearance on the police procedural as his next career goal after winning the NBA Finals with the New York Knicks.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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June 20, 2026 6:19 p.m. ET

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Christopher Meloni on 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'; Jalen Brunson in San Antonio on June 13, 2026. Credit:

Peter Kramer/NBC via Getty;Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty

- Jalen Brunson said that he wants to "try to go to *SVU*" after winning the NBA Finals with the New York Knicks.

- *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* alum Chrstopher Meloni said that the athlete "absolutely" has what it takes to join the show.

- He added, "He's got the force of will."

Jalen Brunson wants to go on *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* — and he has the support of one key alum of the show.

Christopher Meloni, who played Elliot Stabler on the first 12 seasons of the crime procedural before receiving his own spinoff with *Law & Order: Organized Crime*, expressed his approval for the New York Knicks star to guest on the show.

When TMZ asked if he thinks Brunson has what it takes to appear on the show, Meloni responded, "Absolutely. I don't know if you've heard, but he's a world champion. He can do whatever the hell he wants."

Meloni added, "He's got the force of will."

Christopher Meloni in New York City on June 2, 2026.

Brunson voiced his desire to appear on the crime show after leading the Knicks to their first NBA championship since 1973. When asked what he wants to do next, the point guard responded, "Try to go to *SVU*."

Meloni isn't the only *SVU* star to vouch for Brunson. Mariska Hargitay, who has starred on the show for 27 seasons, is an outspoken Knicks fan and has supported the team for many years. At the team's victory parade on Thursday, the actress shared her perspective on what makes Brunson a great New York athlete.

"I think that Jalen embodies the heart, the grit, and the fight of this city," she said in a video shared by the NBA. "And it is so beyond profound, his unification quality. The way he's unified all of us is so extraordinary."

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She added, "To be here with him [and] his family, and to be among them, is just the most extraordinary feeling I think I've ever had."

Hargitay made headlines when she attended Game 4 of the Finals — which the Knicks won, pulling off a miraculous comeback — after wearing a Knicks jersey on a Broadway stage and running on foot from her one-person play *Every Brilliant Thing* to Madison Square Garden.

Jalen Brunson and Mariska Hargitay in New York City on June 18, 2026.

Erik Pendzich / BACKGRID

"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,” she said. "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 10-block sprint after a 2-show day was no joke."

She added, "I love my husband, and our wedding night was great and all, but I think it might have been the greatest night of my life."

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Brunson said that Hargitay is his favorite celebrity Knicks fan. "My number one, love her to death, she knows it… Mariska Hargitay," he said on *The Richard Jefferson Show*.

He also noted his affection for *SVU* on his own podcast. "I've always loved that show,” Brunson said on his *Roommates Show* podcast last year. "I've never been super super starstruck. I saw [Hargitay] and I was like, 'Oh, s---.' The first time we met, it was awesome. We talked and everything."

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Source: “EW Crime”