ESPY 2026 Winners, Awards Results, Recap, Top Moments and Twitter Reaction
This year's ESPY Awards ceremony is taking place on Wednesday from the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York.
Comedian and Saturday Night Live star Marcello Hernández hosted the proceedings, which annually honor the biggest names in sports from the past year.
Here's a look at this year's list of award winners and finalists (via ESPN Press Room and USA Today) as well as some top moments and reaction.
Arthur Ashe Award for Courage: Former NBA center Jason Collins
Jimmy V Award: Former MLB pitcher Jim Abbott
Pat Tillman Award for Service: US Coast Guard Petty Officer Scott Ruskan
Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award: Golden State Warriors G Stephen Curry
Best Athlete, Men's Sports
- New York Knicks G Jalen Brunson
- Inter Miami CF F Lionel Messi
- Los Angeles Dodgers DH/SP Shohei Ohtani
- Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford
Best Athlete, Women's Sports
- PWHL Detroit/US Hockey F Hilary Knight
- Golfer Nelly Korda
- Skier Mikaela Shiffrin
- Las Vegas Aces C A'ja Wilson
Best Breakthrough Athlete
- Winner: Figure Skater Alysa Liu
- San Jose Sharks F Macklin Celebrini
- New England Patriots QB Drake Maye
- Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza
Best Record-Breaking Performance
- Winner: Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett breaking the NFL's single-season sack record (23)
- UCLA softball star Megan Grant breaking the NCAA single-season softball home run record (42)
- Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Høsflot Klæbo became the first athlete to win six golds at a single Winter Olympic Games in 2026.
- Kenyan long-distance runner Sabastian Sawe became the first person to run a sub-two-hour marathon (London Marathon, 1:59:30).
Best Championship Performance
- Winner: New York Knicks PG Jalen Brunson
- USA Women's Hockey G Aerin Frankel
- USA Men's Hockey G Connor Hellebuyck
- Texas Longhorns Softball P Teagan Kavan
Best Comeback Athlete
- Golfer Anthony Kim
- Angel City FC D Savy King
- San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey
- Texas A&M Volleyball OH Kyndal Stowers
Best Play
- Winner: New York Knicks F OG Anunoby's Tip-In to win Game 4 of NBA Finals
- USA Women's Hockey Gold Medal-Winning Goal (Megan Keller)
- USA Men's Hockey Gold Medal-Winning Goal (Jack Hughes)
- UConn F Braylon Mullins' buzzer-beating 3 vs. Duke in men's Elite Eight
- Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams Game-Tying TD vs. Los Angeles Rams
Best Team
- Las Vegas Aces, WNBA champions
- Los Angeles Dodgers, World Series champions
- Indiana Hoosiers, NCAA Football Division I-FBS champions
- Carolina Hurricanes, Stanley Cup winners
- New York Knicks, NBA champions
- Texas Longhorns, NCAA Softball champions
- Seattle Seahawks, Super Bowl winners
- Team USA Men's Hockey, gold medalists
- Team USA Women's Hockey, gold medalists
Best Single-Game Performance
- Winner: Los Angeles Dodgers DH/P Shohei Ohtani: NLCS Game 4 vs. Milwaukee Brewers (three home runs and 6 scoreless innings while striking out 10)
- Baylor 1B Tyce Armstrong, Baylor Baseball: hit three grand slams on Opening Day against New Mexico State in a single game, only second player to achieve feat.
- Miami Heat C Bam Adebayo: 83 points vs. Washington Wizards (second-highest scoring total in NBA history behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100)
- Notre Dame G Hannah Hidalgo: NCAA record 16 steals vs. Akron
Best College Athlete, Men's Sports
- Winner: Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza
- Duke F Cameron Boozer
- Penn State Wrestler Mitchell Mesenbrink (165 lb.)
- NC State F Donavan Phillip
Best College Athlete, Women's Sports
- Winner: UCLA C Lauren Betts
- Pittsburgh Volleyball RS Olivia Babcock
- Northwestern Lacrosse A Madison Taylor
- Oklahoma Gymnast Faith Torrez
Best Athlete With a Disability
- Para Nordic-Skier Jake Adicoff
- Para Hockey F Declan Farmer
- Para Cross-Country Skier Oksana Masters
- Wheelchair Racer Susannah Scaroni
Best NFL Player
- Winner: Cleveland Browns (now Los Angeles Rams) DE Myles Garrett
- New England Patriots QB Drake Maye
- Seattle Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
- Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford
Best MLB Player
- New York Yankees OF Aaron Judge
- Los Angeles Dodgers DH/P Shohei Ohtani
- Seattle Mariners C Cal Raleigh
- Pittsburgh Pirates SP Paul Skenes
Best NHL Player
- San Jose Sharks C Macklin Celebrini
- Tampa Bay Lightning RW Nikita Kucherov
- Colorado Avalanche C Nathan MacKinnon
- Edmonton Oilers C Connor McDavid
Best NBA Player
- Winner: New York Knicks G Jalen Brunson
- Oklahoma City Thunder G Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- Denver Nuggets C Nikola Jokić
- San Antonio Spurs C Victor Wembanyama
Best WNBA Player
- Winner: Las Vegas Aces C A'ja Wilson
- Minnesota Lynx F Napheesa Collier
- Atlanta Dream G Allisha Gray
- Phoenix Mercury F Alyssa Thomas
Best Driver
- F1 Driver Kimi Antonelli
- F1 Driver Lando Norris
- IndyCar Driver Alex Palou
- NASCAR Driver Tyler Reddick
Best Fighter
- Boxer Terence Crawford
- Boxer Gabriela Fundora
- Mixed Martial Artist Justin Gaethje
- Boxer Claressa Shields
Best Soccer Player
- Winner: Inter Miami CF and F Lionel Messi
- KC Current and Malawi F Temwa Chawinga
- PSG and France F Ousmane Dembélé
- Barcelona and Spain F/MF Alexia Putellas
Best Golfer
- Nelly Korda
- Rory McIlroy
- Scottie Scheffler
- Jeeno Thitikul
Best Tennis Player
- Carlos Alcaraz
- Elena Rybakina
- Aryna Sabalenka
- Jannik Sinner
Top Moments and Twitter Reaction
Former MLB pitcher Jim Abbott's acceptance of the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance served as one of the clear top moments of the night.
Abbott was born without a right hand, but that did not stop him from playing 10 big league seasons. He even finished third in the AL Cy Young race in 1991 and pitched a no-hitter in 1993.
US Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskan, this year's Pat Tillman Award for Service winner, received a standing ovation at the ESPY's.
He and fellow crew members Lieutenant Ian Hopper, Lieutenant Blair Ogujiofor and Petty Officer Seth Reeves helped rescue nearly 200 people during the Hill Country floods last July. Ruskan himself has been credited for saving 165 lives.
This article will be updated soon to provide more information and analysis.
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