Curry set to host 30th annual ESPYs on TSN

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Stephen Curry lets his play do the talking during the NBA season. Give him a mic as host of The ESPYS and some famous folks might finally be hearing trash talk from one of the league’s best-liked players.

Just how worried should the audience be Wednesday night for his opening monologue at the show honoring the past year’s top athletes and moments in sports?

“Maybe not as nervous as if Draymond was hosting, but still nervous,” Curry said, referring to his always chattering Golden State Warriors teammate Draymond Green. “Now I have the mic.”

Fresh off the Warriors’ victory over Boston in the NBA Finals, Curry is presiding over the show airing live on ABC from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

The 30th annual ESPYS are back to full capacity for the first time in three years, moving from downtown Los Angeles to the home of the Academy Awards. The show went virtual in 2020 and held a scaled-down version last year in New York because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Watch the ESPYS LIVE on TSN1, TSN3, TSN.ca and TSN App at 8pm et/5pm pt.

In addition to hosting, Curry is nominated for three individual trophies: best men’s athlete, best record-breaking performance and best NBA player. The Warriors are competing for best team.

Curry is used to working in front of live audiences at games, but entertaining a well-dressed crowd of peers is daunting to the four-time NBA champion and recently crowned finals MVP.

“I’m more nervous already just thinking about that vibe,” he said by phone recently. “Basketball is reactionary and I spend every waking hour thinking about it, practicing and preparing. I’ll do that same preparation for this, but it’s going to be an emotional roller coaster.”

Curry describes his sense of humor as