Mega-sports stars Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Alex Morgan, Cam Newton, Ronda Rousey, Odell Beckham Jr., Rob Gronkowski, Leticia Bufoni, Usain Bolt, Simone Biles and this year’s host, Russell Wilson, were the winners at Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Sports 2016, the only show where kids celebrate their favorite athletes and the year’s most unforgettable sports moments.
Kids’ Choice Sports 2016 — helmed for a second straight year by Seattle Seahawks two-time Super Bowl quarterback Wilson –was taped Thursday, July 14, from UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, and will premiere Sunday, July 17, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT) as a simulcast on Nickelodeon, TeenNick and Nicktoons.
Photo: Dave Mangels/Getty Images
Entering the arena greeted by hundreds of kid fans, NBA All-Star Kobe Bryant was presented with the gold-mohawked Kids’ Choice Sports Legend Award by Zendaya, in recognition of his record-breaking achievements, unrivaled talent and outstanding sportsmanship on and off the basketball court. Upon receiving his award, Bryant was doused from head to toe in glistening gold slime.
Throughout the event, three kids competed in Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Sports 2016 “Triple Shot Challenge†for an opportunity to each win $50,000. Pro-athletes cheered on Reynaldo Fernandez, of Los Angeles, Calif., Oliver Callanan, of Portland, Ore., and Jake Lombardo, of Wayne, N.J., as they each attempted to make their shot across basketball, soccer and football, respectively. Callanan took home the big win on his first try, with a 30-yard kick that hit the crossbar and earned him $50,000.
Photo: Dave Mangels/Getty Images
The slime-filled celebration also featured five grand-scale, sports-themed challenges. CC Sabathia and Von Miller zipped their way through the KCS 500, an obstacle-ridden race around the perimeter of the entire arena, on high-speed pedal racing carts; Tony Hawk and Jagger Eaton went head to head in a skateboard challenge and rolled down an epic 65-foot long ramp inside slime-filled Zorb balls in the Human Bowling Challenge; Victor Espinoza, Emanuel Sanders, Nikki and Brie Bella, Andre Drummond and Jamie Anderson took competitive eating to a new level in the Key Slime Pie Challenge; Rob Gronkowski and fellow footballer Russell Wilson battled obstacles, scaled a nearly vertical 65-foot ramp and wielded sledgehammers to smash their way to the Kids’ Choice Sports medal in the Splash Mountain challenge; and teammates Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson faced off in the Big Slime Ballers Challenge, a three-point contest where each shot triggered slime-filled nets above kid rebounders.
Photo: Dave Mangels/Getty Images
Additional show moments included: a glitter-filled celebratory entrance at the top of the show by J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Richard Jefferson, Tristan Thompson, and Dahntay Jones of the Cleveland Cavaliers toting their 2016 NBA Championship trophy; a dance-off featuring Rob Gronkowski going toe to toe against Ciara; the hockey-themed Celebrity Headshot with LA Kings Tyler Toffoli and Nick Cannon; and, of course, multiple slimings. Michael Strahan, and stars of Nickelodeon’s Game Shakers also made special appearances throughout the show.
For a complete list of winners from Kids’ Choice Sports 2016, click here.
