The 2026 ESPYS are almost here. ESPN’s annual celebration of the year in sports airs live this Wednesday, July 15, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, with fan voting closing the same day. This year’s ceremony broadcasts live from the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, marking the first time the show has been held in New York City since 1999.
Who Is Leading The Nominations
The top names among this year’s nominees include Jalen Brunson, Myles Garrett, Alysa Liu, Matthew Stafford, Rory McIlroy, Lionel Messi, Shohei Ohtani, Mikaela Shiffrin, Victor Wembanyama, and A’ja Wilson. Brunson, who led the Knicks to their first title since 1973 and scored 45 points in the Game 5 clincher, is up for Best Athlete in Men’s Sports along with Best Championship Performance. Ohtani landed three nominations of his own.
Wilson and Shiffrin are each chasing a second win in the Best Athlete in Women’s Sports category, which would make either the seventh athlete ever to claim the award more than once. First-time nominees this year include Bam Adebayo, Lauren Betts, Macklin Celebrini, Hannah Hidalgo, Drake Maye, Fernando Mendoza, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. ESPN has also added three new social-exclusive categories: Best Tunnel Fit, Best Celebration, and Best Sports Card.
The Pillar Awards And How To Watch
As always, the ceremony’s most meaningful moments will come from its three pillar awards. Jason Collins will posthumously receive the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, Jim Abbott will receive the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, and Scott Ruskan will receive the Pat Tillman Award for Service. The show continues to support ESPN’s longstanding commitment to The V Foundation for Cancer Research.
Comedian and “Saturday Night Live” star Marcello Hernández hosts for the first time. Beyond the ABC broadcast, the ceremony streams on the ESPN App in pattern with the airing, and it will be available the next day on Disney+, Hulu, the ESPN App, and ABC Video on Demand. It caps a busy stretch for the network, which recently signed a multi-year media rights deal with the new college swimming league. Fans can cast their votes and see the full list of nominees at ESPN’s official ESPYS hub before voting closes.
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