Jalen Brunson, Lionel Messi, Mikaela Shiffrin and Shohei Ohtani Among ESPY Nominees

Jalen Brunson, Lionel Messi, Mikaela Shiffrin and Shohei Ohtani Al Bello/Getty Images; Andrew J. Clark/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images; Ezra Shaw/Getty Images; Megan Briggs/Getty Images

The nominees for the 2026 ESPYs are out, with New York Knicks hero Jalen Brunson leading a crowded lineup of sports stars for this year’s installment of the award show.

Brunson is nominated in the best athlete: men’s sports category alongside Lionel Messi, Shohei Ohtani, and Matthew Stafford. Ohtani is actually nominated in three categories, including best single-game performance, and best MLB player.

Brunson is also nominated for best championship performance, with the Knicks also nominated for best team.

Film Academy Invites 529 to Become Members Including Jacob Elordi, Teyana Taylor and New Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro

ESPN's Matt Miller Has Arm Amputated After Car Accident

The Best athlete: women’s sports category, includes Hilary Knight, Nelly Korda, Mikaela Shiffrin and A’ja Wilson. First-time ESPY nominees include Bam Adebayo, Lauren Betts, Macklin Celebrini, Hannah Hidalgo, Drake Maye, Fernando Mendoza, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

The Knicks presence is significant, 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 Marcello Hernandez set to host.

The awards show will air live from the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on Wednesday, July 15, 2026 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, and will stream on the ESPN app. Voting is underway and will run through July 15 when the awards are handed out.

Below is the full list of ESPY nominees.

BEST ATHLETE, MEN’S SPORTS Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks Lionel Messi, Inter Miami CF Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams BEST ATHLETE, WOMEN’S SPORTS Hilary Knight, Hockey Nelly Korda, Golf Mikaela Shiffrin, Ski A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks Alysa Liu, Figure Skating Drake Maye, New England Patriots Fernando Mendoza, Indiana Football BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE 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 BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks Aerin Frankel, USA Women’s Hockey Connor Hellebuyck, USA Men’s Hockey Teagan Kavan, Texas Longhorns Softball BEST COMEBACK ATHLETE Anthony Kim, Golf Savy King, Angel City FC Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers Kyndal Stowers, Texas A&M Volleyball BEST PLAY 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 BEST TEAM 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 BEST SINGLE-GAME PERFORMANCE Tyce Armstrong, Baylor Baseball – hit three grand slams in a single game, tying a record set 50 years ago Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat – scored 83 points for the Miami Heat in a 150–129 win against the Washington Wizards, recording the second-highest single-game total in NBA history Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame Basketball – broke the NCAA record for most steals (16) in a 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 Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State Wrestling Donavan Phillip, NC State Soccer BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE, WOMEN’S SPORTS Olivia Babcock, Pittsburgh Volleyball Lauren Betts, UCLA Basketball Madison Taylor, Northwestern Lacrosse Faith Torrez, Oklahoma Gymnastics BEST ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY Jake Adicoff, Para Nordic-Skiing Declan Farmer, Para Hockey Oksana Masters, Para Cross-Country Skiing Susannah Scaroni, Wheelchair Racing BEST NFL PLAYER Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns Drake Maye, New England Patriots Jaxon 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 Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates BEST NHL PLAYER Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers BEST NBA PLAYER Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs BEST WNBA PLAYER Napheesa Collier, Minnesota Lynx Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream Alyssa Thomas, Phoenix Mercury A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces BEST DRIVER Kimi Antonelli, F1 Lando Norris, F1 Alex Palou, IndyCar Tyler Reddick, NASCAR BEST FIGHTER Terence Crawford, Boxing Gabriela Fundora, Boxing Justin Gaethje, MMA Claressa Shields, Boxing BEST SOCCER PLAYER Temwa Chawinga, KC Current Ousmane Dembélé, PSG/France Lionel Messi, Inter Miami CF Alexia Putellas, Spain/Barcelona BEST GOLFER Nelly Korda Rory McIlroy Scottie Scheffler Jeeno Thitikul BEST TENNIS PLAYER Carlos Alcaraz Elena Rybakina Aryna Sabalenka Jannik Sinner