ABC Midseason Schedule: All-Athletes ‘DWTS’ Returns April 30

Dancing With the Stars season 26 will premiere Monday, April 30 at 8 p.m. ET, ABC announced Monday.

Show hosts Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews announced during the season 25 finale that season 26’s shortened four-week run will be a special all-athletes edition of the dance competition.

Ten athletes yet to be named from a variety of sports will compete for the coveted mirrorball trophy starting April 30.

The network going with a mini competition instead of a full season could be a risky move, but it could also be a schedule-saving gamble, considering ABC will be the new home for American Idol in March 2018.

Regardless, the show’s pro dancers seemed excited to hear the news and even offered a few names as to who they’d like to see on the show.

One famous name that keeps popping up? Kobe Bryant.

Longtime pro Sharna Burgess, who took Indy Car driver James Hinchcliffe to second place last fall, was the first to put his name out to the masses.

Burgess said she would love to see Bryant or Shaquille O’Neal do the show, but noted, “I’m going to need three foot platforms to dance with that guy!”

And it was Bryant’s former team member and DWTS contestant, Derek Fisher who told TooFab.com that the recently-retired Laker legend loves the program.

“He loves the show. He and the family watch it,” Fisher said. “[Producers] should at least try and call him!”

Other athletes to look for could be Winter Olympic medalists, a Super Bowl athlete or maybe an athlete from a sport that has never been featured on DWTS: golf.

“We’ve never actually had a golfer, what about Tiger Woods?,” Burgess said. “[Also] someone who was from the winning Super Bowl team [and] someone that wins gold at the Olympics.”

In past seasons, numerous sports stars have competed — and triumphed — in the ballroom: Former NFL stars Emmitt Smith, Hines Ward, Donald Driver, and Rashad Jennings each won their seasons; Olympic gold medalists Apolo Anton Ohno, Kristi Yamaguchi, Shawn Johnson, Meryl Davis, and Laurie Hernandez all danced away victorious; and auto racing driver Hélio Castroneves has also taken the top spot.