The nominees for the 2026 ESPYs have been announced, with New York Knicks champion Jalen Brunson leading a crowded lineup of sports stars at this year’s awards ceremony.
Bronson was nominated for the Best Athlete: Men’s Sports category alongside Lionel Messi, Shohei Ohtani and Matthew Stafford. Ohtani was actually nominated in three categories, including Best Single-Game Performance and Most Valuable Player in MLB.
Brunson was also nominated for best tournament performance, and the Knicks were also nominated for best team.
Best Athlete: Women’s Sports category, featuring Hilary Knight, Nelly Korda, Mikaela Shiffrin, and Aja Wilson. First-time ESPY nominees include: Bam Adebayo, Lauren Bates, MacLaine Celebrini, Hanna Hidalgo, Drake Maye, Fernando Mendoza and Jackson Smith-Njigba.
Knicks’ presence is important, as this year’s ESPYs will return to New York after more than 25 years in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, with Saturday Night Live star Marcelo Hernandez scheduled to host.
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The awards ceremony will be broadcast live from the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on Wednesday, July 15, 2026 at 8 pm ET on ABC, and will be streamed on the ESPN app. Voting is ongoing and will continue until July 15 when the awards will be awarded.
Below is the complete list of ESPY nominees.
Best Athlete, Men’s Sports
Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
Lionel Messi, Inter Miami FC
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Best athlete, women’s sports
Hilary Knight, hockey
Nelly Korda, golf
Mikaela Shiffrin, skiing
Aja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
Best sports hack
MacLean Celebrini, San Jose Sharks
Alyssa Liu, figure skating
Drake May, New England Patriots
Fernando Mendoza, Indiana football player
Best record breaking performance
Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns – Broke the NFL’s single-season passing record
Megan Grant, UCLA Softball – Broke the NCAA single-season softball record.
Johannes Hosflot Kleibo, cross-country skier – the first athlete to win six golds at the Winter Games
Sebastien Saoi, long-distance runner – the first to finish a marathon in under two hours
Best performance of the tournament
Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
Erin Frankel, women’s hockey player from the United States of America
Connor Hellebuyck, American men’s hockey player
Tegan Cavan, Texas Longhorns softball
Best comeback athlete
Anthony Kim, golf
Savvy King, Angel City FC
Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
Kendall Storrs, Texas A&M Volleyball
Better play
Golden goal for gold! – Women’s Olympic Hockey
Golden goal for gold! -Men’s Olympic Hockey
UConn stuns Duke with buzzer beater for Braylon Mullins 3 – NCAA Men’s March Madness
OG Anunoby Tip – NBA Finals
Caleb Williams TD vs. Rams Game Hook – NFL
Best team
Las Vegas Aces, WNBA
Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB
Indiana Hoosiers, NCAA Football
Carolina Hurricanes, NHL
New York Knicks, NBA
Texas Longhorns, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) softball
Seattle Seahawks, NFL
USA Men’s National Hockey Team
USA women’s hockey team
Best performance in a single game
Tice Armstrong, Baylor baseball player – hit three grand slams in one game, tying a record set 50 years ago
Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat – Scored 83 points for the Miami Heat in a 150-129 win over the Washington Wizards, marking the second-highest single-game total in NBA history.
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame Basketball – Broke the NCAA record for most steals (16) in a single game
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers – Pitched six scoreless innings, struck out 10 batters and hit three home runs
Best College Athlete, Men’s Sports
Cameron Boozer, Duke Basketball
Fernando Mendoza, Indiana football player
Mitchell Misenbrink, Penn State wrestling
Donavan Phillip on the NC State Football website
Best College Athlete, Women’s Sports
Olivia Babcock, Pittsburgh Volleyball
Lauren Bates, UCLA Basketball
Madison Taylor, Northwestern Lacrosse
Faith Torrez, Oklahoma Gymnastics
Best athlete with a disability
Jake Adicoff, Nordic Skiing
Declan Farmer, Para Hockey
Oksana Masters, cross-country skiing
Susanna Scaroni, wheelchair racing
Best player in the NFL
Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns
Drake May, New England Patriots
Jackson Smith Njigba, Seattle Seahawks
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Best MLB Player
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners
Paul Skeens, Pittsburgh Pirates
The best player in the National Hockey League
MacLean Celebrini, San Jose Sharks
Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Best player in the NBA
Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
WNBA MVP
Navisa Collier, Minnesota Lynx
Alisha Gray, Atlanta Dream
Alyssa Thomas, Phoenix Mercury
Aja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
Best driver
Kimi Antonelli, F1
Lando Norris, F1
Alex Ballou, IndyCar
Tyler Reddick, Nascar
Best fighter
Terence Crawford, boxing
Gabriela Fundora, boxer
Justin Gaethje, MMA
Claressa Shields, boxer
Best football player
Temwa Chawinga, current KC
Ousmane Dembélé, Paris Saint-Germain/France
Lionel Messi, Inter Miami FC
Alexia Putellas, Spain/Barcelona
Best golfer
Nelly Korda
Rory McIlroy
Scotty Scheffler
Gino Theticol
Best tennis player
Carlos Alcaraz
Elena Rybakina
Aryna Sabalenka
Yannick Siner
