The 2026 ESPY Awards honored the athletes that gave it their everything this past year. From basketball to figure skating and plenty more sports, the famous faces accepted their awards for a variety of categories.
Olympic gold medalist and figure skating darling Alysa Liu won the Breakthrough Athlete award and thanked her team in her speech.
“First of all, I’m really honored to be given this award,” Alysa said at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, New York City, during the July 15 ceremony. “I’ve been in my sport since I was 5 years old, and I had some really rough times in it, I took two years off. So, for me, this really feels like I broke through in my own way, for myself, and for my sport. I love being an athlete, I couldn’t have done it without my team.”
Below, Hollywood Life has the full list of the 2026 ESPY Awards winners.
Best Athlete, Men’s Sports
- Jalen Brunson
Best Athlete, Women’s Sports
- A’ja Wilson
Best Team
- New York Knicks
Best Championship Performance
- Jalen Brunson
Best Breakthrough Athlete
- Alysa Liu
Best Play
- OG Anunoby
Best Single-Game Performance
- Shohei Ohtani
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
Best Golfer
- Rory McIlroy
Best Tennis Player
- Carlos Alcaraz
Best NHL Player
- Connor Hellebuyck
Best Fighter
- Justin Gaethje
Best Driver
- Alex Palou
Best Athlete With a Disability
- Ezra Frech
Best College Athlete, Men’s Sports
- Cooper Flagg
Best College Athlete, Women’s Sports
- Lauren Betts
Best Record-Breaking Performance
- Myles Garrett
Best Comeback Athlete
- Damar Hamlin
Best International Athlete
- Lionel Messi
Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award
- Stephen Curry
Arthur Ashe Award for Courage
- Jason Collins
Jimmy V Award for Perseverance
- Jim Abbott
Pat Tillman Award for Service
- Scott Ruskan
