NEW YORK — After winning their first NBA title in 53 years, Jalen Brunson and the Knicks were the biggest winners at the 2026 ESPYS on Wednesday night at Lincoln Center.
The sports media giant delivered a star-studded event attracting the biggest names in sports: Brunson, Steph Curry, Simone Biles, Lindsey Vonn, Jayson Tatum, and many more. The heavy hitters from ESPN made the scene, including new Disney chairman Josh D’Amaro (attending his first ESPYS); ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro; president of content Burke Magnus, and thelegendary Chris Berman.
Having also attended the event, here are are my five takeaways from this year’s ESPYS:
ESPN Wants World Cup Back
Much of the backstage chatter revolved around this year’s scintillating World Cup. ESPN made its bones on the global stage by broadcasting six World Cups from 1994 to 2014. Bob Ley led the coverage from exotic locales like Brazil, South Africa, and France. There’s still a large contingent in Bristol that fondly recalls those years as the network at its absolute best. Current ESPNers aren’t going to comment on Fox coverage. But former ESPN president John Skipper firmly believes his network did a better job than Fox has in recent years.
