Honorees at the inaugural TIME100 Sports Gala gathered in New York City on July 16 to celebrate the powerful influence that sports has on our society.
Guests attended the event to celebrate the 100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026—the first time TIME has put together a list honoring influential athletes, coaches, advocates, and investors in sports.
Five honorees delivered toasts that evening: NBA player Jalen Brunson, who in June helped lead the New York Knicks to their first championship victory in more than 50 years; two-time Olympic gold medalist figure skater Alysa Liu; former U.S. soccer player Alex Morgan; Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex and founder of the Invictus Games; and NBA star LeBron James.
Here’s what each of them toasted to.
Jalen Brunson
Right off the tail of leading the New York Knicks to a historic NBA championship win—the team’s first since 1973—point guard and finals MVP Brunson toasted to the family that helped prepare him for his moment in the spotlight and inspired him to aspire for greatness.
His mom, he said, has always shown him how to “lead with purpose”, while his dad taught him the value of work ethic, “preparation,” and discipline. His grandparents, his friends—all of these supporters are who help him in the moments of success, he said, but also in the moments of failure.
“They’re the people who celebrate the good memories with me—the good moments—but more importantly, they’re the ones who lift me up when I’m vulnerable, challenge me to be better, and keep me grounded,” Brunson said.
He also thanked his wife, Ali, as his “source of peace and perspective,” and his daughter for reminding him why sports matter “beyond ourselves.”
“I’m standing here because so many people believed in me long before the world did. For that, I’ll always be grateful,” he concluded. “Here’s to the people who inspire us, believe in us, and remind us that the journey is always worth it.”
Alysa Liu
Similar to Brunson, figureskater Liu thanked the team that helped her prepare for the 2026 Winter Olympics, where she won an individual gold medal—four years after she originally retired from the sport.
“I wouldn’t love my journey as an athlete as much as I do if it wasn’t for my incredible team,” Liu said. “They’re really what keep me grounded, keep me mentally and physically stable.”
Back in February, Liu told TIME that quitting the sport in 2022, at just 16 years old, was one of the best decisions she had ever made, because she felt “trapped and stuck.” It was her team of advisors and coaches that helped bring her back out of retirement and prepare her to win this past year, she said.
“There was so much willpower and dedication put into the past two years I’ve been back in my sport,” Liu said Thursday. “Not just from me, but from my entire team who work tirelessly to make sure my mental & physical health stay strong and steady.”
She spoke about how special it is to be an athlete and how much she loved being in a room with other athletes who felt the same way.
“What other time can you really push your mind and body to its limits?” she said “I’ve been an athlete for 13 years, not counting my retirement, and what I’ve learned is that it’s so important to trust and value the process.”
Alex Morgan
Morgan toasted to “the incredible investment in women’s sports that continues to grow.”
“Throughout my career on the field, I saw what female athletes could accomplish when we spoke up, pushed for more, and demanded what we deserved,” she said. “I’m proud that we’re in a position today where this momentum is still driving us forward.”
She went on to applaud the “unprecedented global investment in new women’s leagues, teams, and events across the sports landscape,” adding that not only does it spur exciting competition, but it also sparks careers, builds communities, and shows “the next generation that there is a place for them—not only on the field, but in ownership, leadership, media, and every part of the sports industry.”
“So, tonight, I toast to the continued growth of investment in women’s sports, so that the next generation of girls around the world can dream even bigger than anyone could imagine,” Morgan said.
Prince Harry
During his toast, Prince Harry spoke about how attending the 2013 Warrior Games in Colorado Springs inspired him to start the Invictus Games, a sports competition for wounded veterans.
“In the arena, sport wasn’t simply rebuilding strength—it was restoring confidence, purpose, identity, and connection,” he said. “That’s when I realized something profound: sport isn’t just entertainment and competition—sport is medicine. It reaches places that surgery cannot, therapies sometimes struggle to, and words often never will.”
“It challenges the body, focuses the mind, and gives people permission to believe that what once seemed impossible may seem to still be within reach,” he continued. “It helps whole families heal too. It’s a reminder to all of us that the comeback is better than the setback.”
He spoke about how the Invictus Games have grown over the years, bringing together hundreds of competitors from 26 nations.
“Every one of us in this room knows that sport can produce champions,” he said. “But perhaps that’s not the greatest achievement at all—it’s helping people believe they still have a future.”
“The Invictus Movement is a reminder that sport has the power to rebuild, to reconnect, and to redefine what is possible because sport restores the human spirit,” he continued.
Prince Harry closed out his toast by acknowledging two Invictus Games competitors in the room. He said those competitors, and all the others who participated in the Invictus Games, embodied “resilience, leadership, and an enduring commitment to their communities and to their country.”
“That is the ultimate power of sport: It brings us back to ourselves,” he said. “Long after the medals are won and the records are broken and the crowds have gone home, what remains isn’t the scoreboard; it is the person sport helps us become.”
LeBron James
The last toast of the night was given by James, who applauded the powerful impact sports has had on so many people’s lives.
“We know what sports has done for every household,” he said. “What it does for us, how it brings families together, the inspiration that we continue to give generations before us, that we’ll give generations after us, generations that’s here now.”
He went on to say that sports is “the number one thing” that “brings the world together.”
The NBA star expressed gratitude for his family and closed out his toast by thanking TIME for the honor and for honoring sports.
“I just want to say thank you again from the bottom of my heart; it means everything to me,” James said. “Without sports, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be able to tell my story. I would not be able to inspire the youth, inspire everybody that’s followed my journey.”
The TIME100 Sports Gala was presented by J.P. Morgan, Toyota, Target, The Macallan, and the American Heart Association.
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