New Delhi, July 17 -- NEW YORK - Jalen Brunson walked to the podium at Lincoln Center three times on Wednesday night, and each time the David H. Koch Theater gave him something louder than the last. The third applause, when Marcello Hernandez read his name as Best Athlete in Men's Sports, was the kind that comes when a room recognizes it is not simply applauding an individual but ratifying a year. Brunson won Best Championship Performance, Best NBA Player, and Best Athlete in Men's Sports at the 2026 ESPY Awards, NBC News reported, completing a three-award sweep that the ceremony's New York return made feel less like a broadcast event than a ratification.

The ceremony returned to New York City for the first time in more than 25 years, a ...