Watch: Jalen Brunson, Lionel Messi & More Score ESPYS 2026 Nominations
The biggest night in sports has finally kicked off.
Athletes from across college and professional leagues traded in their uniforms and equipment for high heels and bowties as they arrived at the 2026 ESPY Awards July 15 in New York City.
Indeed, the annual ceremony—hosted by Saturday Night Live star Marcello Hernández at Lincoln Center—shines a light on the best and brightest in sports.
Take, for instance, the Best Athlete in Men’s Sports nominees: soccer legend Lionel Messi, NBA Championship-winning New York Knicks captain Jalen Brunson, Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani and Los Angeles Rams’ Matthew Stafford.
And the women’s category is just as stacked, with PWHL Detroit’s Hilary Knight, Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson, skier Mikaela Shiffrin and golfer Nelly Korda competing for the award.
It’s sure to be a game-winning event since matches from the 2026 Winter Olympic Games are eligible, which means the Team USA men’s and women’s hockey teams are up for Best Play or Best Team for their respective gold-medal performances.
As athletes cross their fingers to win big, Hernandez will have a team of ESPY award winners presenting categories, including Simone Biles—who took home Best Athlete at last year’s event—as well as 2025’s Best Breakthrough Athlete winner Ilona Maher and 2022 winner of Best Female Action Sport Athlete Eileen Gu.
While sports stars wait to see who wins big, one of the most noticeable absences is Messi. Although he’s nominated for Best Athlete and Best Soccer Player, Argentina faced off with England at the World Cup in Atlanta at the same time.
So, it’s no surprise that the two-time MVP winner has been focused on keeping his head in the game, despite the evening’s honors.
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
“I’ve always been competitive,” he shared in a December interview with ESPN Argentina’s SportsCenter in Spanish. “I like to win and I try to do it. Along the way I’ve had bad stretches or tough moments, but I always keep trying and I get back up, always looking for the best.”
And Messi, 39, is always looking towards the future, adding, “What’s coming becomes more important than what already happened and with time, you start valuing things much more.”
Now, huddle up and keep reading to see all the athletes who won big at the 2026 ESPY Awards.
BEST ATHLETE, MEN’S SPORTS
- Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
- Lionel Messi, Inter Miami CF
- Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
- Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
BEST ATHLETE, WOMEN’S SPORTS
- Hilary Knight, Hockey
- Nelly Korda, Golf
- Mikaela Shiffrin, Ski
- A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE
- Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks
- Alysa Liu, Figure Skating
- Drake Maye, New England Patriots
- Fernando Mendoza, Indiana Football
BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE
- Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns – broke the NFL single-season sack record
- Megan Grant, UCLA Softball – broke the NCAA single-season softball home run record
- Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Cross-Country Skier – first athlete to win six golds at Winter Games
- Sabastian Sawe, Long-Distance Runner – first to finish a marathon in under two hours
ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images
BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE
- Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
- Aerin Frankel, USA Women’s Hockey
- Connor Hellebuyck, USA Men’s Hockey
- Teagan Kavan, Texas Longhorns Softball
BEST COMEBACK ATHLETE
- Anthony Kim, Golf
- Savy King, Angel City FC
- Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
- Kyndal Stowers, Texas A&M Volleyball
BEST PLAY
- Golden Goal for Gold! – Olympic Women’s Hockey
- Golden Goal for Gold! – Olympic Men’s Hockey
- UConn stuns Duke with Braylon Mullins’ buzzer-beating 3 – NCAA Men’s March Madness
- OG Anunoby’s Tip-In – NBA Finals
- Caleb Williams Game Tying TD vs. Rams – NFL
BEST TEAM
- Las Vegas Aces, WNBA
- Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB
- Indiana Hoosiers, NCAA Football
- Carolina Hurricanes, NHL
- New York Knicks, NBA
- Texas Longhorns, NCAA Softball
- Seattle Seahawks, NFL
- Team USA Men’s Hockey
- Team USA Women’s Hockey
Maja Hitij – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
BEST SINGLE-GAME PERFORMANCE
- Tyce Armstrong, Baylor Baseball – hit three grand slams in a single game, tying a record set 50 years ago
- Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat – scored 83 points for the Miami Heat in a 150–129 win against the Washington Wizards, recording the second-highest single-game total in NBA history
- Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame Basketball – broke the NCAA record for most steals (16) in a game
- Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers – pitched six scoreless innings, struck out 10 batters and hit three home runs
BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE, MEN’S SPORTS
- Cameron Boozer, Duke Basketball
- Fernando Mendoza, Indiana Football
- Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State Wrestling
- Donavan Phillip, NC State Soccer
BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE, WOMEN’S SPORTS
- Olivia Babcock, Pittsburgh Volleyball
- Lauren Betts, UCLA Basketball
- Madison Taylor, Northwestern Lacrosse
- Faith Torrez, Oklahoma Gymnastics
BEST ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY
- Jake Adicoff, Para Nordic-Skiing
- Declan Farmer, Para Hockey
- Oksana Masters, Para Cross-Country Skiing
- Susannah Scaroni, Wheelchair Racing
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
- Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns
- Drake Maye, New England Patriots
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks
- Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
BEST MLB PLAYER
- Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
- Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
- Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners
- Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates
BEST NHL PLAYER
- Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks
- Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
- Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
- Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
BEST NBA PLAYER
- Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
- Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
- Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
BEST WNBA PLAYER
- Napheesa Collier, Minnesota Lynx
- Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream
- Alyssa Thomas, Phoenix Mercury
- A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
BEST DRIVER
- Kimi Antonelli, F1
- Lando Norris, F1
- Alex Palou, IndyCar
- Tyler Reddick, NASCAR
BEST FIGHTER
- Terence Crawford, Boxing
- Gabriela Fundora, Boxing
- Justin Gaethje, MMA
- Claressa Shields, Boxing
BEST SOCCER PLAYER
- Temwa Chawinga, KC Current
- Ousmane Dembélé, PSG/France
- Lionel Messi, Inter Miami CF
- Alexia Putellas, Spain/Barcelona
BEST GOLFER
- Nelly Korda
- Rory McIlroy
- Scottie Scheffler
- Jeeno Thitikul
BEST TENNIS PLAYER
- Carlos Alcaraz
- Elena Rybakina
- Aryna Sabalenka
- Jannik Sinner
To see all the stars at the ESPYS 2026, read on…
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ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images
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