ESPY Awards 2026 List of Nominees and Predictions for Event's Top Categories

On Wednesday evening, the sorting world will gather to celebrate some of the greatest achievements and most memorable moments from the past calendar year.

Airing on ABC at 8 p.m., ET the 2026 ESPY Awards will b hosted by comedian Marcello Hernández and will honor some of the top athletes and teams in sports. It will also feature performances by the Savannah Bananas, De La Soul, Slick Rick, and Ghostface Killah.

The event will be available to stream the following day on Disney+, Hulu, ABC video on demand, and the ESPN app.

Here, you'll find a look at the top nominees and some predictions for the biggest awards of the night.

Best Breakthrough Athlete

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Alysa Liu

Nominees

Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks

Alysa Liu, Figure Skating

Drake Maye, New England Patriots

Fernando Mendoza, Indiana Football

Prediction: Alysa Liu, Figure Skating

This past year featured several breakthrough athletes and rising stars. However, Alysa Liu's rise to international stardom stood out above the rest.

After winning two gold medals at the Milano Cortina Olympics, Liu became an instant celebrity. This was, in part, due to her becoming the first American to win an Individual gold medal since 2002 and, in part, to her personality, individual style, and tale of perseverance.

Liu briefly retired from competitive skating at age 16 before coming back to win gold at age 20.

"So many people call me their 'hero,' which is like so strange," Liu said, per Nick McCarvel of Olympics.com.

Best Record-Breaking Performance

AP Photo

Myles Garrett

Nominees

Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns: broke the NFL single-season sack record

Megan Grant, UCLA Softball: broke the NCAA single-season softball home run record

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Cross-Country Skier: first athlete to win six golds at Winter Games

Sabastian Sawe, Long-Distance Runner: first to finish a marathon in under two hours

Prediction: Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns

Several notable records fell over the past year, but Myles Garrett's 23rd sack of the season arguably brought the most memorable moment. The former Cleveland Browns star—now with the Los Angeles Rams—broke a record that Michael Strahan set during the 2021 season.

T.J. Watt tied Strahan's record in 2022.

Given the overall popularity of the NFL and Garrett's transition to being a bona fide star in Los Angeles, expect him to win the award over Megan Grant, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, and Sabastian Sawe—though their accomplishments were equally impressive.

Best Play

Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images

Nominees

Golden Goal for Gold! – Olympic Women's Hockey 

Golden Goal for Gold! – Olympic Men's Hockey

UConn stuns Duke with Braylon Mullins' buzzer-beating 3 – NCAA Men's March Madness 

OG Anunoby's Tip-In – NBA Finals

Caleb Williams Game Tying TD vs. Rams – NFL

Prediction: OG Anunoby's Tip-In – NBA Finals

The voting for this award probably won't be close. The New York Knicks' championship run was magical, ended a title drought that dated back to 1973, and featured a sporting moment that will live in history.

With mere seconds remaining in Game 4 of the Finals, Jalen Brunson missed a three-point shot that would have completed a comeback from a 29-point deficit. However, OG Anunoby knifed through traffic, rose above the San Antonio Spurs, and tipped the ball in for the go-ahead score with just 1.2 seconds remaining.

While Game 4 wasn't the last game of the Finals—the Knicks won in five—Anunoby capped the largest comeback in Finals history while giving New York all of the series momentum. It also happened to occur in front of an electric Madison Square Garden crowd.

Clips Anunoby's tip-in during Game 4 of the NBA Finals will be shown whenever New York's title run is discussed.

Best Team

Justin Casterline/Getty Images

Fans fill the street during the New York Knicks Championship ticker tape parade and victory rally celebrating winning the 2026 NBA Finals on June 18, 2026 in New York City

Nominees

Las Vegas Aces, WNBA

Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB

Indiana Hoosiers, NCAA Football

Carolina Hurricanes, NHL

New York Knicks, NBA

Texas Longhorns, NCAA Softball

Seattle Seahawks, NFL

Team USA Men's Hockey

Team USA Women's Hockey

Prediction: New York Knicks

We saw many great teams over the past year, including an Indiana Hoosiers squad that went undefeated. However, the Knicks' run through the playoffs was a cultural phenomenon for an entire city.

As previously noted, the Knicks broke a lengthy championship drought by completing multiple historic comebacks—they also surged back from a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit during the Eastern Conference Finals. They consistently battled as underdogs while the Western Conference was widely expected to deliver the NBA's winner.

As The Athletic's Fred Katz wrote, the Knicks' run was memorable for sporting fans but something more to New Yorkers:

"Their legacy outside of New York will stem from their work on the court, from how they came together to vault to their best basketball ever over the preceding two months, from how they changed the legacies of Brunson and Towns and Anunoby, from how they forced the basketball world to rethink how important an undersized point guard could be to a ring. But inside the city or even the state is the unifying factor of it all."

Best Athlete, Men's Sports

Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Jalen Brunson

Nominees

Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks

Lionel Messi, Inter Miami CF

Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers

Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

Prediction: Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks

Can this award really even go to anyone other than Jalen Brunson? The Finals MVP led the charge during the Knicks postseason run while establishing himself as the ultimate underdog on a team that few saw as legitimate title contenders.

The undersized, often discounted point guard became the driving force for New York while showing that efficiency, basketball IQ, impeccable footwork, and heart can beat pure size and speed, even in the modern NBA.

Add in the fact that Brunson left money on the table with his 2024 extension, which helped to build a championship team, and the 29-year-old might already be considered the greatest Knick of all-time.

Best Athlete, Women's Sports

David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images

A'ja Wilson

Nominees

Hilary Knight, Hockey

Nelly Korda, Golf

Mikaela Shiffrin, Ski

A'ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces

Prediction: A'ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces

While all of this year's nominees for the best athlete in women's sports are deserving, this feels like a two-contender race between A'j Wilson and Hillary Knight.

Knight led the U.S. Olympic hockey team to a win over Canada in the Milano Cortina gold-medal game. During the gold-medal run, she also set American records for the most career Olympic goals and points, while becoming the first U.S. hockey player to compete in five Winter Games.

Wilson, meanwhile, led the Las Vegas Aces to a third championship in four years while becoming the first WNBA star to win the MVP, the Finals MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and the league scoring title. Given her recent dominance in a league rapidly rising in popularity, Wilson will win a tight race here.