How long has it been since basketball icon Charles Barkley hosted "Saturday Night Live"? Well, the musical guest the night of his show was... Nirvana.

Now, more than 16 years later, Barkley has been tapped to return to the NBC late night show. He's set to host the January 9 edition of "SNL," the first episode back after the show's holiday hiatus.

Musical guest for the night: Alicia Keys.

Barkley's last "SNL" hosting gig was on the show's 19th season premiere, which aired Sept. 25, 1993.

Here's video of Barkley filming promo spots... with Nirvana and the late Kurt Cobain. Kinda freaky.