Thankfully for me, not the ones I care about. The NBA has been going downhill since the 80's (Jordan single-handledly kept my interest in the 90's). They have only a partial lock on major college sports - you can still find games on the other broadcast networks, regional sports networks, and the other major cable sports (CBS, Fox, and NBC sports networks).
They only have one of five slots for NFL each week. MLB can be found on numerous networks and regional sports channels. NHL is on NBC. Fox Sports shows twice as many MLS games as ESPN. Auto racing shifts networks from time to time.
So really, outside the NBA, one can get along quite well without ESPN.
I like watching football and the college March Madness games. OTT I don’t watch ESPN unless there’s a game I would really like to see then I go to my neighbor who has a dish.