Five memorable moments from the 2016 ESPYs, including a stark opening with LeBron James, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade

For the uninitiated, two questions can arise with regard to the ESPY Awards: What are they, and why are they so long?

A somewhat cumbersome acronym for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award, the ESPYs date back to the pop cultural ascendance of their parent network in spring of 1993, when ESPN helped change the face of sports with highlights and the catchphrase-slinging anchors of its flagship show “SportsCenter.” The first show was hosted by Dennis Miller, and each show highlights the best in the year of sports just as the Oscars, Emmys and Grammys look to their disciplines of choice.

Since then ESPYs have shifted from New York to Los Angeles, where the show has been held since 2002, and looked to an array of celebrity hosts that include Justin Timberlake, Seth Meyers, Drake and Joel McHale, who hosted the show in 2015. That year’s broadcast shifted the show to ESPN’s corporate sibling ABC, a move that coincided with the ESPYs’ most talked-about moment up to that point -- the presentation of its Arthur Ashe Courage Award to Olympic Gold Medalist Caitlyn Jenner.

(And as for the length question, three hours are the legal minimum for big league – so to speak – awards ceremonies. Questioning such numbers is as effective as debating those of LeBron James.)

So on the doorstep of their 25th year, how would the ESPYs follow that shift to the big leagues? Below, five memorable moments from a show that got surprisingly real.

A call to action opens the show

Setting aside a glitzy opening, the ESPYs began by addressing the run of tragedies that have shaken the country beginning with the officer-involved shooting deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling and ending with the shooting of police officers at a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas. “The system is broken,” Carmelo Anthony said as he joined Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James before a hushed Microsoft Theater. The four NBA stars then invoked the names of outspoken heroes such as John Carlos, Jim Brown, Billie Jean King and Muhammad Ali while renouncing violence, condemning racial profiling and calling for athletes to look toward their communities. “We all have to do better,” James said. It was a powerful, surprising start to a show built on escapism.

Zaevion Dobson wins the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage

A year removed from Jenner’s award in this category, seeing a high school athlete in this space could be seen as an unexpected left turn. However, in a documentary-styled segment structured around a narration from “Creed” and “Friday Night Lights” star Michael B. Jordan as Dobson, this award went to a 15-year-old from Knoxville, Tenn., who died protecting his friends from gunfire. After the tabloid headlines surrounding last year’s award, it was a sobering, genuinely moving shift that reflected a year marked by senseless gun violence.

John Cena onstage at the ESPYs.

(Chris Pizzello/Invision/Associated Press )

John Cena: Not a bad host!

The ESPYs have a history of following its awards show brethren with hosts drawn from the world of TV and comedy, and the former professional wrestling star acquitted himself well. Cena began by invoking the unifying quality of sports that recalled his viral Independence Day ad. He also showed some solid comic chops in a few skits and a barbed monologue that welcomed the recently relocated Rams back to Los Angeles (“They’re not at the ESPYs,” he clarified, “The ESPYs are for winners”) and compared unpopular NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to the WWE’s all-powerful “maniacal billionaire,” Vince McMahon. “Why the hell did they get me to host this thing?” Cena asked before a bit comparing pro sports to his former day job. Now we know.

Female voices are heard

Sports and gatherings about sports are typically seen as testosterone-heavy affairs, but Abby Wambach and best female athlete winner Breanna Stewart made a point of speaking out for equality. Wambach mentioned the satisfaction she gained as a member of the U.S. Women’s Soccer team that spoke out for equal pay while receiving her Icon Award, and UConn’s Stewart called out the disparity between acclaim for male and female athletes while accepting her award. “Equality for all takes each of us making an effort,” Stewart said. “Thank you for this honor and together, let’s be better.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Chance the Rapper honor The Greatest

Fittingly, a show that began by invoking the late Muhammad Ali closed with a formal tribute to the champ. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar began by echoing the show’s opening plea for athletes to speak their minds, saying “I hope his death spurs his successors to remember what truly made him the greatest.” Rising star Chance the Rapper then took the stage to perform a soulful, gospel-tinged elegy backed by a montage of Ali in pictures and a recording of his voice. “Ain’t no one prettier, ain’t no one wiser, ain’t no one better,” Chance sang. He had a point.

Follow me @chrisbarton.

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