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2026 ESPYs: The best moments from sports’ biggest night

New York Knicks win best team at the 34th annual ESPY Awards. (Disney/Frank Micelotta)

(NEW YORK) — It was a night to remember for some of the sports world’s biggest stars at the 34th annual ESPY Awards on Wednesday.

The best sports moments, winning plays, and superstar players were celebrated at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City.

Olympian Simone Biles presented the ESPY Award for best team to the New York Knicks, one month after the NBA team secured this year’s championship title in five games against the San Antonio Spurs.

“I hope this trophy, especially here in New York, getting this trophy shows the word love. The love of each other and this team is what got us through the humps in December when we were not playing our best basketball. The love of the fans is what got us back [when we were] down 29 at home,” Knicks center-forward Karl-Anthony Towns said in a speech, as the team accepted the award.

Knicks guard Jose Alvarado added, “We’ve got the best fans in the world.”

Knicks captain Jalen Brunson also won multiple ESPYs on Wednesday, including best championship performance and best athlete – men’s sports.

“I’m at a loss of words. It has been a hell of a run to say the least,” Brunson said.

Brunson’s teammate OG Anunoby also took home the ESPY for best play for his now-famous tip-in that cemented the Knicks’ eventual win of game 4 during the NBA Finals.

“I think it’s pretty exciting for everyone,” Anunoby said of his ESPYs experience last night. “I mean I grew up watching this award show, so full circle, crazy to be here.”

The ESPYs also honored athletes on the rise, including 24-year-old Olympic gold medalist figure skater Alysa Liu, who earned the ESPY for best breakthrough athlete.

“The past six months have been really crazy, but I’ve been enjoying it,” Liu said. “And once it’s all kind of slowing down, I’m gonna journal about it, so I can remember everything.”

“Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts delivered the Arthur Ashe Courage Award honoring late NBA trailblazer Jason Collins, the first openly gay player in league history.

Collins died of a brain tumor in May, so Roberts presented the award to his twin brother Jarron Collins, who accepted it on his behalf.

“It really does make all the difference in the world. Representation matters,” Jaron Collins said.

“When you see someone of the LGBTQ community following their passions, following their dreams, living their life, being their authentic self — it inspires other people,” he added. “So, my brother, being a professional NBA basketball player and being openly gay, lived his life, lived his dream, lived his truth.”

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

US-Iran strikes ‘put into question’ key parts of MOU, Qatari official says

Dr. Majed al-Ansari, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Quatar and Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, speaks onstage during Global Citizen NOW: Impact Sessions on September 24, 2025, in New York City. (Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images for Global Citizen)(LONDON) -- Renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran in the Middle East puts into question key elements of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) agreed by regional nations last month, a senior Qatari government official told ABC News on Thursday.Majed al-Ansari, an adviser to Qatar's prime minister and the spokesperson for the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on the sidelines of the Chatham House think tank's 2026 conference in London that Doha is hoping that intense rounds of reciprocal strikes between the U.S. and Iran do "not kill off the memorandum of understanding altogether.""But it does put into question a lot of other things that we have already agreed upon," he said.The past 48 hours, Ansari said, have been "quite tense." He added that since the resumption of strikes, "We've seen again navigation through the Strait of Hormuz basically grind to a halt.""We are urging all sides to exercise restraint and give some more time for the talks," Ansari said.U.S. Central Command said it launched more than 170 strikes on Iranian targets over the past two days in response to alleged Iranian attacks on commercial shipping transiting the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week -- allegations that Tehran denied. One of the ships attacked was a Qatari liquid natural gas tanker, the Al-Rekayyat, Qatar said.In response to the U.S. strikes, the Iranian military claimed to have launched attacks on U.S. military facilities in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.The U.S. and Iran have traded several volleys of attacks since the MOU was signed on June 17.Ansari denied the Iranian claim that it launched fresh attacks on Qatar on Thursday. "There haven't been any attacks in Qatar. The Iranian claims, they're claims. But our military was very much ready, immediately as the attacks began on the region," he said. "We had some pass overs, but nothing targeting us."President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested that the MOU was "over" following the reported Iranian attacks, dismissing leaders in Tehran as "scum" and threatening intensified military action.Asked about those comments, Ansari said Doha and "all parties remain engaged in the talks.""Yes, we're not at the place that we were hoping to be at this time in the chronology of where we wanted the talks to go. But talks have not broken down," he said. "But, of course, any escalation on the ground derails the diplomatic work."Qatar -- alongside Pakistan -- played a key role in forging the 14-point MOU agreed in June, under which the U.S. and Iran agreed to the reopening Strait of Hormuz and the end of the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports. The agreement also stipulated that fighting would stop for 60 days while the U.S. and Iran negotiated the terms of a final deal, which would cover issues including Iran's nuclear material.Ansari said talks on that final deal are ongoing despite the escalating strikes and heated rhetoric from both Washington and Tehran."The easy answer is everybody's talking to everybody," he said when asked what was happening behind the scenes, noting that work is ongoing on all three separate tracks -- one regarding the Strait of Hormuz, one regarding Iran's nuclear program and the third regarding the sanctions on Iran and frozen Iranian assets."Our focus is on that diplomatic resolution right now," Ansari added. "The focus has to be on the diplomatic track working, the talks succeeding and on the end of war to pave the way for sustainable peace in our region, and not for it just to be lulls between attacks.""No country, however strong that country is when it comes to its military, is able to withstand an unending military conflict in a small region like ours," Ansari said.Nonetheless, he said Qatar's armed forces are prepared for renewed conflict. "We have taken all the contingencies in respect of what might happen in the region," Ansari said. Qatar, he added, has "not taken part in any attacks against Iran or any other of our neighboring countries." When asked if Doha would be willing to do so, Ansari replied, "We reserve the right to retaliate."Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
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