Championship heroes, viral moments, emotional tributes, and one very awkward microphone. The 2026 ESPYS had a little bit of everything.
ESPN’s biggest night in sports honored the athletes who defined the past year, but it also delivered plenty of memorable moments beyond the trophies. From Jalen Brunson’s award sweep to heartfelt standing ovations and a viral acceptance speech, here’s every winner and the biggest highlights from the 2026 ESPYS.
Complete list of 2026 ESPYS winners
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| Best Athlete – Men’s Sports | Jalen Brunson |
| Best Athlete – Women’s Sports | A’ja Wilson |
| Best Breakthrough Athlete | Alysa Liu |
| Best Record-Breaking Performance | Myles Garrett |
| Best Championship Performance | Jalen Brunson |
| Best Comeback Athlete | Christian McCaffrey |
| Best Play | OG Anunoby’s tip-in (NBA Finals) |
| Best Team | New York Knicks |
| Best Single-Game Performance | Shohei Ohtani |
| Best College Athlete – Men’s Sports | Fernando Mendoza |
| Best College Athlete – Women’s Sports | Lauren Betts |
| Best Athlete With a Disability | Declan Farmer |
| Best NFL Player | Myles Garrett |
| Best MLB Player | Shohei Ohtani |
| Best NHL Player | Connor McDavid |
| Best NBA Player | Jalen Brunson |
| Best WNBA Player | A’ja Wilson |
| Best Driver | Lando Norris |
| Best Fighter | Terence Crawford |
| Best Soccer Player | Lionel Messi |
| Best Golfer | Scottie Scheffler |
| Best Tennis Player | Carlos Alcaraz |
| Best Tunnel Fit | Lewis Hamilton |
| Best Sports Card | Macklin Celebrini |
| Arthur Ashe Award for Courage | Jason Collins |
| Jimmy V Award for Perseverance | Jim Abbott |
| Pat Tillman Award for Service | Scott Ruskan |
| Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award | Stephen Curry |
Source: ESPN’s official 2026 ESPYS winners list.
A return to New York
For the first time in decades, the ESPYS traded Los Angeles for New York City, with the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center hosting the annual celebration. Saturday Night Live star Marcello Hernández emceed the ceremony, while performances from De La Soul, Slick Rick, and Ghostface Killah gave the show a distinctly New York feel.
The night also delivered plenty of laughs before the awards took center stage, including a surprise appearance from Will Ferrell, who joined Hernández for one of the ceremony’s funniest comedy bits.
But once the awards began, one story quickly took over the night.
Jalen Brunson and the Knicks steal the spotlight
Fresh off leading the New York Knicks to their first NBA championship since 1973, Jalen Brunson turned a dream season into an unforgettable night. He won Best Athlete – Men’s Sports, Best Championship Performance, and Best NBA Player, while the Knicks were crowned Best Team. It was a clean sweep that reflected just how dominant New York’s title run had been.
The Knicks weren’t done creating headlines. During the team’s acceptance speech for Best Play, OG Anunoby accidentally became one of the ceremony’s biggest scene-stealers when he walked up to a microphone that was far too short for his 6-foot-7 frame. As teammates stepped in to adjust it, the audience couldn’t help but laugh. ESPN later uploaded the full 5:43-minute acceptance speech, and at around the 5:11 mark, you can catch the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment that fans quickly embraced as simply “OG being OG.”
The moments that mattered most
Not every highlight came with a trophy.
Former MLB pitcher Jim Abbott received the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, earning one of the night’s biggest standing ovations. Born without a right hand, Abbott built an extraordinary Major League career that continues to inspire athletes decades later, and his speech became one of the ceremony’s emotional centerpieces.
Another feel-good moment belonged to Alysa Liu, who was named Best Breakthrough Athlete after completing one of the year’s most remarkable comeback stories. Just a few years after stepping away from competitive skating, the 19-year-old returned to the sport and climbed all the way back to the top, making her ESPY win feel like the latest milestone in an already extraordinary journey.
Stephen Curry was honored with the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award for his work through the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, recognizing the impact he and his wife, Ayesha Curry, have made in expanding access to education, nutrition, and safe spaces for children.
Elsewhere, Jason Collins was posthumously recognized with the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, while Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskan received the Pat Tillman Award for Service after helping save more than 160 people during catastrophic flooding in Texas.
A night that reflected the year in sports
If there was one takeaway from the 2026 ESPYS, it was how much this year’s honors mirrored the biggest stories in sports. Brunson’s rise from All-Star guard to the face of a championship franchise made him the night’s undisputed headliner, while stars like A’ja Wilson, Shohei Ohtani, and Carlos Alcaraz continued to prove that sustained greatness rarely goes unnoticed.
Yet the moments many viewers will remember weren’t necessarily tied to a trophy. They were the standing ovation for Jim Abbott, Stephen Curry’s reminder that an athlete’s impact extends beyond competition, and even OG Anunoby’s unscripted microphone mishap that brought laughter to a room full of champions.
For one night, the ESPYS celebrated everything that makes sports compelling: remarkable performances, unforgettable personalities, and stories that resonate long after the final buzzer.
