---
title: "The ESPYS return to New York as Brunson and Ohtani take top honors"
description: "The ESPYS came back to New York City for the first time in more than a quarter century, handing out the sports world's glossiest awards at Lincoln Center. The Knicks' Jalen Brunson and the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani were among the night's marquee winners, with a wave of young stars honored alongside them."
category: "Sports"
category_url: https://herald.la/category/sports
author: "Simone Bishop"
published: 2026-07-16T01:59:00.000Z
updated: 2026-07-16T01:59:00.000Z
canonical: https://herald.la/article/the-espys-return-to-new-york-as-brunson-and-ohtani-take-top-honors
tags: ["espys", "awards", "jalen brunson", "shohei ohtani", "new york"]
---
# The ESPYS return to New York as Brunson and Ohtani take top honors

The ESPYS came back to New York City for the first time in more than a quarter century, handing out the sports world's glossiest awards at Lincoln Center. The Knicks' Jalen Brunson and the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani were among the night's marquee winners, with a wave of young stars honored alongside them.

For one night, the marble halls of Lincoln Center traded ballet for basketball highlights. The ESPYS, ESPN's annual celebration of the sporting year, [returned to New York City for the first time since 1999](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/espys-new-york-city-2026/), setting up shop at the David H. Koch Theater in a venue better known for opera than for slam dunks.

## A new host, an old home

The ceremony was [hosted by the "Saturday Night Live" star Marcello Hernández](https://www.eonline.com/news/1433939/espys-2026-winners-see-the-complete-list-live-updates), who steered a night of tributes, montages and the occasional needle. The move back east gave the show a different texture from its recent Los Angeles runs, swapping Hollywood's red carpet for a Manhattan cultural landmark, though the business of the evening, honoring the year's best athletes and moments, was unchanged.

## The winners

The hardware went to a mix of established stars and rising ones. [Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks won Best Championship Performance](https://www.espn.com/espys/story/_/id/49359664/espys-2026-award-winners-jalen-brunson-aja-wilson-fernando-mendoza), a fitting note on home turf after the franchise's title run, while the Los Angeles Dodgers' two-way phenomenon [Shohei Ohtani took Best Single-Game Performance](https://www.espn.com/espys/story/_/id/49359664/espys-2026-award-winners-jalen-brunson-aja-wilson-fernando-mendoza).

The show also leaned into the next generation. Figure skater [Alysa Liu was named Best Breakthrough Athlete](https://www.eonline.com/news/1433939/espys-2026-winners-see-the-complete-list-live-updates). In the college categories, [Indiana's Fernando Mendoza won Best College Athlete in men's sports and UCLA's Lauren Betts won on the women's side](https://www.eonline.com/news/1433939/espys-2026-winners-see-the-complete-list-live-updates), a nod to the growing prominence of college stars on the sport's biggest awards stage.

## What the night was for

Beneath the glamour, the ESPYS have always carried a second purpose. Since their debut in the early 1990s, the awards have been tied to the V Foundation for Cancer Research, and the evening's more emotional segments, its perseverance and humanitarian honors, tend to draw the loudest ovations. The return to New York gave the 2026 edition a sense of homecoming, a reminder that a show now synonymous with Los Angeles glitz began its life on the other coast, and that the athletes it celebrates come from everywhere in between.

## Sources

- [ESPYS 2026 award winners](https://www.espn.com/espys/story/_/id/49359664/espys-2026-award-winners-jalen-brunson-aja-wilson-fernando-mendoza)
- [ESPYS 2026 winners: See the complete list](https://www.eonline.com/news/1433939/espys-2026-winners-see-the-complete-list-live-updates)
- [The ESPYS return to New York City in a full-circle moment](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/espys-new-york-city-2026/)