2016 ESPYS Presenters, Attendees, Nominees and Preview

The 2016 ESPYS Joe Faraoni / ESPN Images

The 2016 ESPYS honor the past year’s best teams, players, moments and more from the world of sports, featuring appearances by luminaries of sports and entertainment. WWE’s John Cena hosts the show from Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater. U.S. Army Sgt. Elizabeth Marks will be honored with the Pat Tillman Award for Service. NBA on TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager, who is battling leukemia, receives the Jimmy V Perseverance Award. For the first time ever, The ESPYS will honor three retiring athletes, as Justin Timberlake will do a special presentation to honor Kobe Bryant, Peyton Manning and Abby Wambach with with the Icon Award. Knoxville, Tenn., high-school football star Zaevion Dobson is posthumously honored with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. ABC airs the 2016 ESPYS on Wednesday, July 13, live at 8pm ET.

List of presenters and attendees rom ESPN:

This year’s scheduled presenters include (in alphabetical order): Chris Berman (ESPN Sportscaster), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), Skylar Diggins (Dallas Wings), Lisa Leslie (retired WNBA player), David Oyelowo (Queen of Katwe), Usher Raymond IV (Hands of Stone) Lindsey Vonn (American World Skier), Dwyane Wade (Chicago Bulls) and JJ Watt (Houston Texans), among others.

In addition, top athletes and celebrities scheduled to attend so far include: Antonio Brown (Pittsburgh Steelers), Dez Bryant (Dallas Cowboys), Kobe Bryant (retired NBA player), Eric Hosmer (Kansas City Royals), Kerri Walsh Jennings (professional beach volleyball player), DeAndre Jordan (Los Angeles Clippers), Sydney Leroux (FC Kansas City), Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers), Peyton Manning (retired NFL player), Von Miller (Denver Broncos), Danica Patrick (NASCAR driver), JR Smith (Cleveland Cavaliers), Abby Wambach (retired professional soccer player) and more.

In addition, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Basketball Hall of Famer) will be part of a special tribute to the late Muhammad Ali during the show. Critically-acclaimed artist Crown and the M.O.B will perform as the ESPYS house band, with a special performance by Andra Day.

Full list of ESPYS nominees from ESPN:

BEST MALE ATHLETE
Stephen Curry
Cam Newton
Bryce Harper
LeBron James

BEST FEMALE ATHLETE
Breanna Stewart
Elena Delle Donne
Katie Ledecky
Simone Biles

BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE
Von Miller – Super Bowl
Carli Lloyd – World Cup Final
Sidney Crosby – Stanley Cup Playoffs
LeBron James – NBA Finals

BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE
Jake Arrieta
Conor McGregor
Chloe Kim
Karl-Anthony Towns

BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE
Stephen Curry – single season three-pointers made
Geno Auriemma – most NCAA basketball titles in D1 history (11)
Christian McCaffery – single season NCAAF all-purpose yards

BEST UPSET
Holly Holm knocks out Ronda Rousey – UFC
Middle Tennessee over Michigan State – Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament
Roberta Vinci over Serena Williams – US Open

BEST GAME
Villanova vs. North Carolina – Men’s NCAA Basketball Final
Arizona Cardinals vs. Green Bay Packers – NFL Divisional Round
Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers – NBA Finals Game 7

BEST PLAY (16 NOMINEES VOTED BRACKET-STYLE)
Aaron Rodgers Hail Mary vs. 16. Crazy 66-yard Ole Miss’ TD
Kris Jenkins buzzer beater vs. 15. Connor McDavid goal
Michigan St punt block TD vs. 14. Stanford trick play w/ circus catch
LeBron Game 7 block vs. 13. Louis Oosthuizen hole-in-one off of ball
Steph Curry 38-foot game-winner vs. 12. Army softball player leaps over tag
Holly Holm knockout of Ronda Rousey vs. 11. Bartolo Colon first home run
Tiffany Howard HR robbery WCWS vs. 10. Josh Donaldson diving into stands
Jairo Samerio scores on scissor-kick ground vs. 9. Dele Alli juggling goal for Tottenham

BEST TEAM
Cleveland Cavaliers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Kansas City Royals
Denver Broncos
Alabama Crimson Tide
UConn Huskies
Villanova Wildcats

BEST COACH/MANAGER
Ned Yost – Kansas City Royals
Geno Auriemma – UConn Huskies
Jay Wright – Villanova Wildcats
Nick Saban – Alabama Crimson Tide
Tyronn Lue – Cleveland Cavaliers

BEST INTERNATIONAL ATHLETE
Cristiano Ronaldo
Novak Djokovic
Lydia Ko
Luis Suarez
Canelo Alvarez

BEST NFL PLAYER
Cam Newton
Tom Brady
JJ Watt
Antonio Brown
Julio Jones

BEST MLB PLAYER
Bryce Harper
Josh Donaldson
Jake Arrieta
Mike Trout
Clayton Kershaw

BEST NHL PLAYER
Patrick Kane
Alex Ovechkin
Sidney Crosby
Joe Pavelski
Braden Holtby

BEST DRIVER
Kyle Busch
Lewis Hamilton
Erica Enders-Stevens
Scott Dixon
Alexander Rossi

BEST NBA PLAYER
Stephen Curry
Kawhi Leonard
LeBron James
Kevin Durant
Russell Westbrook

BEST WNBA PLAYER
Elena Delle Donne
Maya Moore
Angel McCoughtry
Tina Charles
DeWanna Bonner

BEST FIGHTER
Conor McGregor
Gennady Golovkin
Canelo Alvarez
Robbie Lawler
Roman Gonzalez

BEST MALE GOLFER
Jason Day
Dustin Johnson
Danny Willett
Jordan Spieth

BEST FEMALE GOLFER
Lydia Ko
Inbee Park
Brooke Henderson
Ariya Jutanugarn

BEST MALE TENNIS PLAYER
Novak Djokovic
Andy Murray
Roger Federer

BEST FEMALE TENNIS PLAYER
Angelique Kerber
Flavia Pennetta
Serena Williams
Garbine Muguruza

BEST MALE COLLEGE ATHLETE
Derrick Henry
Buddy Hield
Jordan Morris
Jarrion Lawson
Alex Dieringer

BEST FEMALE COLLEGE ATHLETE
Breanna Stewart
Raquel Rodriguez
Samantha Bricio
Taylor Cummings
Sierra Romero

BEST MALE ACTION SPORTS ATHLETE
Ryan Dungey
Gus Kenworthy
Nyjah Huston
Pedro Barros
Mark McMorris

BEST FEMALE ACTION SPORTS ATHLETE
Chloe Kim
Keala Kennelly
Jamie Anderson
Carissa Moore

BEST JOCKEY
Mario Gutierrez
Kent Desormeaux
Javier Castellano
Irad Ortiz Jr.

BEST MALE ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY
Richard Browne
Joe Berenyi
Aaron Fotheringham
Nikko Landeros
Brad Snyder

BEST FEMALE ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY
Tatyana McFadden
Heather Erickson
Oksana Masters
Shawn Morelli

BEST BOWLER
Jason Belmonte
Jesper Svensson
Ryan Ciminelli
Anthony Simonsen

BEST MLS PLAYER
Sebastian Giovinco
Kei Kamara
Laurent Ciman
Luis Robles

About Ryan Berenz 2166 Articles
Member of the Television Critics Association. Charter member of the Ancient and Mystic Society of No Homers. Squire of the Ancient & Benevolent Order of the Lynx, Lodge 49, Long Beach, Calif. Costco Wholesale Gold Star Member since 2011.