Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani earned the award for Best Single-Game Performance at the 2026 ESPYS on Wednesday night in New York.
Ohtani, who didn’t attend the event, won the award for his remarkable two-way performance in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers last year.
Ohtani won the award over Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, who scored a historic 83 points against the Washington Wizards in March.
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Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander’s brother, Ben, defended Ohtani’s award after fans questioned the Dodgers star winning it over Adebayo. The MLB analyst doubled down on his defence of the four-time MVP in an X post.
“I see I’ve accidentally upset the NBA world with this tweet,” Ben wrote. “I’m sorry. There’s not a world where an 83-point game in basketball (36 via FREE throws) is a better performance than 10Ks and 3 HRs by the SAME PLAYER. NOT. A. WORLD. No discredit to Bam, though. GG for sure.”
Ben outlined the Dodgers phenom’s remarkable two-way performance in an earlier post, clarifying why Ohtani won the award over the Heat star.
“Yes. That is correct. He lost to Shohei Ohtani, who had, quite literally, the greatest game of baseball ever played. 10 Ks on the mound and 3 HRs at the plate. Probably the greatest single game performance from any athlete in any game ever.”
Adebayo’s 83 points against the Wizards were the second-highest tally by a player in a single game in NBA history.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani won ESPY for Best MLB Player over Yankees captain Aaron Judge
Apart from winning the ESPY for the Best Single-Game Performance, Shohei Ohtani was also named the Best MLB Player at the annual event this week.
He won the award over reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who had the most home runs by a backstop last season and reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes.
Edited by Chaitanya Prakash
