The 2019 ESPYS

A recap of sport's night of glamour, greatness, and inspiration.

Courtesy of ESPN and ABC

The ESPYS bring together the world's greatest athletes and some of sports' most inspirational personalities to celebrate the past year of moments. The event is probably most famous for its connection to Coach Jim Valvano's charity, The V Foundation, which is dedicated to funding cancer research. Coach V's speech at the inaugural ESPYS in 1993 stands as one of the most iconic speeches in sports history.

"Every single day, in every single walk of life, ordinary people accomplish extraordinary things." -Jimmy Valvano, 1993

If you missed the action last night, read on for a recap of the biggest moments of the night.

Special Awards

The first of the special awards distributed last night was the Pat Tillman Awards for Service. This award is given to an inspirational person who has served in the armed forces. This year, the award went to retired Sgt. Kirstie Ennis. While serving as a helicopter gunman in the Marines, Ennis and her crew were caught in a crash and Ennis sustained serious injuries including but not limited to a broken jaw, fractured spine, and a shattered lower left leg which later resulted in an amputation. Sgt. Ennis has decided to live her life for her friends in the military who didn't make it home, making her new mission in life to summit the tallest mountain on each of the 7 continents to try and inspire others like her to believe that they are more than their injuries.

In a similar vein, the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance was awarded to JV football coach Rob Mendez. Coach Mendez was born with Tetra-Amelia Syndrome, meaning he did not develop arms or legs. However, Coach Mendez' love for football outshone his disability. He said that for him, coaching football was about showing people that nothing can come in between you and your passion so long as you commit yourself to doing what you love. Rob Mendez closed his acceptance speech by shouting "What's stopping me? Nothing!" inciting a roar and a standing ovation from the crowd.

Finally, the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage was given to former NBA superstar Bill Russell. The courage and determination Russell exhibited during his college and professional careers in the face of blatant and aggressive racism brought a face of representation and equality into the spotlight. Bill Russell's talent for winning is recognized as one of the greatest in NBA history, if not in all of sports. The 11 time NBA champ and 13 time All-Star reminds us all, even today, that standing up to injustice and defending your dignity can not only benefit you, but show subsequent generations that they belong.

The Best of the Best

Not only is the ESPYS about celebrating inspirational individuals, but it's also about reveling in the best moments in sports. Here are some of the best moments from last night's show:

--Best Moment: Rob Gronkowski, Lindsay Vonn, and Dwayne Wade. "I want to say thank you to Drew Brees because of what you said to your wife onstage, my wife looked at me with a death stare," D-Wade joked about Gabrielle Union before closing with a sweet, "I can't wait to marry you all over again in five years."

--Best Female Athlete: Alex Morgan. "No offese, but this isn't the best trophy I've won this week." #Tea

--Chris Long winning Sports Humanitarian of the Year. #FlyEaglesFly

--Best Male Athlete: Giannis Antetokounmpo. "I promise this won't be like the MVP awards."

--Best Record-Breaking Performance: Drew Brees. He basically told everyone in the room that his sons wanted to meet them.

--Best Play: Katelyn Ohashi. Used her acceptance speech--or more aptly, poem--as a platform to stand up for gender equality in sports.

--Best Team: USWNT. From victory parade in New York to red carpet award show in LA with a turnaround time of only a few hours.