On July 15, ESPN held their annual ESPY Awards hosted by boxer Marcello Armando Hernandez.
The ESPY’s are a fan voted award.
The opening narration noted that it wasn’t about the trophies but about the fight and what the athletes “who showed up and let the size of the obstacle shrink the size of their effort.”
The Savannah Bananas open the show with a performance with a cameo by Khalid.
In his monologue, Hernandez mentioned the Gold Medal winning Olympic Women’s and Men’s hockey teams but failed to mention that Gold Medal winning Paralympic Hockey team who helped to make history with all three Team USA hockey teams winning gold.
The first award of the night was for Best Championship Performance and went to Jalen Brunson of the NBA champion New York Knicks.
The award for Best Breakthrough Athlete went to Olympic ice skater Alysa Lou.
NBA Basketball player Stephen Currey is honoured for his foundation Eat, Learn, Play with the Mohammad Ali Sport Humanitarian Award. He said it wasn’t about him, but a community coming together for the kids.
Slick Rick gives a performance.
The award for Best Men’s Sport College Athlete went to Fernando Mendoza – quarterback for the National Champion Indiana Hoosiers.
The award for Best Women’s Sport College Athlete went to UCLA Basketball player Lauren Betts.
MLB pitcher Justin Verlander presented the 2026 Jimmy V Award for Perseverance to former MLB pitcher Jim Abbott. He received a standing ovation and loud cheers when his name was said. Abbott noted that being included meant the world to him; adding that he never wanted to make a big deal about his hand…and still doesn’t, noting that there are a lot of people in worse shape then himself. He spoke on the people who taught him how to do even the basic tasks taken fore granted by most people. He said to keep believing, nothing can stop you. He called the award, an honour of a lifetime.
The 2026 Capital One Cup goes to the University of Texas Longhorns and the Michigan Wolverines.
The award for Best Single Game Performance went to Shohei Ohtani.
The award for Best Play went to New York Knicks basketball player OG Anunoby who helped to bring the Knicks back from a 29 point deficit.
The recipient of the Pat Tillman Award for Service to U.S. Coast Guard helicopter search and rescue member Scott Ruskan. Ruskan helped to rescue the girls at Camp Mystique last year during a flood. He was credited for saving 165 girls form the camp. Ruskan took the stage to a standing ovation and loud clapping. He said it was a huge honour to be there; adding that he grew up idolizing Pat Tillman. He noted that “there were a lot of heroes there that day.” He noted that the campers saved more lives than he did. Noting that he wasn’t a pilot and credited the pilots for their work. He added that he could not have done the rescue without the helicopters; adding that there were 100 people involved…some of whom are working now with another flood in the same area.
The award for Best Record Breaking Performance went to NFL football player Myles Garrett for breaking the sack record with 23.
The Gatorade Player of the Year awarded the best high school players of the year; they are softball player Maddie DiMaria and baseball player Grady Emerson.
The recipients of the Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award went to Julia Howe, Samuel Phillips, and Kelis Armstrong.
Robin Roberts presents the Arthus Ashe Award for Courage former NBA player Jason Collins who was the first professional sports player to come out as homosexual. He died just over two months ago as the result of Leo blastoma. His twin brother Jarron accepted the award. Jarron noted that Jason saw Arthur Ashe as an idol.
The award for Best Men’s Sports Athlete went to new York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson
The award for Best Women’s Sports Athlete went to Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson
Gold medal winning Olympic gymnast Simone Biles presented the award for Best Team to the NBA champion New York Knicks.
Awards not presented on the live television broadcast:
Best NFL Player: Myles Garrett
Best NBA Player: Jalen Brunson
Best WNBA Player: A’ja Wilson
Best MLB Player: Shohei Ohtani
Best Soccer Player: Lionel Messi, Inter Miami CF
Best Golfer: Scottie Scheffler
Best Tennis Player: Carlos Alcaraz
Best NHL Player: Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers
Best Fighter: Terence Crawford
Best Driver: Formula 1 driver Lando Norris
Best Athlete with a Disability: Paralympic Sled Hockey player Declan Farmer
Best Comeback Athlete: Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers
Best International Athlete: Lionel Messi