The biggest names in sports and entertainment converged on Wednesday night to honor the best, most influential and most inspiring athletes of the year at the 2023 ESPY Awards.
The big show, held at Hollywood’s Dolby Theater this year, saw some sporting icons and rising stars receive special recognition for impressive performances for the first time. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James set his first record-breaking goal after a stunning basketball season that broke the NBA all-time leading scorer.
In addition, soccer star and darling of last year’s FIFA World Cup, Lionel Messi also received his first nomination for best athlete in men’s sport, where he joined two-time nominee and Super Bowl winner Patrick Mahomes.
Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin received her third nomination for Best Athlete in Women’s Sports this year, joining newcomers in the category of basketball player A’ja Wilson, soccer player Sophia Smith and tennis player Iga Świątek.
So who walked away with another moment of victory and glory? Check out the full list of the night’s big winners – tagged in bold — under!
Best Athlete, Men’s Sport
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs – **WINNER!
Lionel Messi, Argentina
Best Athlete, Women’s Sport
Mikaela Shiffrin, Skis – **WINNER!
Sophia Smith, Portland Thorns
Iga Świątek, tennis
A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
Best Breakthrough Athlete
Caitlin Clark, Iowa women’s basketball
Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
Angel Reese, LSU Women’s Basketball – **WINNER!
Julio Rodríguez, Seattle Mariners
Best record performance
Novak Djokovic wins his 23rd Grand Slam title, defeating Casper Ruud in the French Open final. He broke the tie with rival Rafael Nadal for the most major singles trophies in the history of men’s tennis, which dates back to the 19th century
LeBron James surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in NBA career scoring record – **WINNER!
Mikaela Shiffrin breaks record for most World Cup wins with her 87th win
Max Verstappen wins the Mexican Grand Prix, breaking the record for most wins in a season
Best championship performance
Leon Edwards, UFC – def. Kamaru Usman by 5th round KO to win the UFC Welterweight Title, giving Usman his first UFC loss
Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets – 2023 NBA Finals MVP
Lionel Messi, Argentina – 2022 World Cup Final – scored twice and earned Man of the Match on penalties and won the Golden Ball as FIFA Best Player of the Tournament – **WINNER!
Rose Zhang, LPGA – Def. Jennifer Kupcho in a two-hole sudden death playoff and made history by winning by becoming the first woman to win her first professional start in 72 years.
Best Comeback Athlete
-Jon Jones, UFC – Jones’ first fight in the UFC since 2020. He was last seen in action against Dominick Reyes where he defended his light heavyweight championship at UFC 247. While Jon Jones was planning a move to the heavyweight division, he and the UFC president disagreed over how the fighters would be paid. Jones felt he needed to be paid more for a promotion to heavyweight, which led to him delaying his return.
*Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets – Murray missed all of last season with a cruciate ligament tear in his left knee. He suffered the injury on April 12, 2021 in a game against the Golden State Warriors and has not played in the 18 months since. — **WINNER!
-Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut Sun – 2022 WNBA Comeback Player of the Year. Thomas missed all but six games last season while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. The eight-year veteran has played all 36 of Connecticut’s games in the starting XI in 2022 and was an All-Star earlier this season. She leads the team in assists (6.1), steals (1.7), and minutes played (32.1).
-Justin Verlander, current New York Mets/Houston Astros – 2022 NL Comeback Player of the Year, after being limited to just six innings in 2020 and missing the entire ’21 season due to surgery by Tommy John, the star returned to the The Astros are down 18-4 this season with a 1.75 ERA — the lowest for any AL pitcher since Pedro Martinez posted a 1.74 ERA in 2000.
best piece
Michael Block Hole in One! GOLF
Justin Jefferson with the Catch of the Century NFL – **WINNER!
Ally Lemos with the perfect corner to equalize in the NCAA National Championship game
Trinity Thomas perfect 10 equals the all-time NCAA record
best team
Denver Nuggets, NBA
Georgia Bulldogs, NCAA Football
Kansas City Chiefs, NFL – **WINNER!
Las Vegas Aces, WNBA
Louisiana State Tigers, NCAA Women’s Basketball
Oklahoma Sooners, NCAA Softball
Vegas Golden Knights, NHL
Best College Athlete, Men’s Sport
Zach Edey, Purdue men’s basketball
Duncan McGuire, Creighton Soccer
Brennan O’Neill, Duke Lacrosse
Caleb Williams, USC Football
Best College Athlete, Women’s Sport
Jordy Bahl, Oklahoma Softball
Caitlin Clark, Iowa women’s basketball
Izzy Scane, Northwestern Lacrosse
Trinity Thomas, Fla. Gators Gymnastics
Best Disabled Athlete
Erica McKee, Sled Hockey Team
Zach Miller, snowboarding
Aaron Pike, wheelchair racing and cross-country skiing
Susannah Scaroni, Wheelchair Race
Best NFL Player
Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers
Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Best MLB Player
Paul Goldschmidt, St Louis Cardinals
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
Justin Verlander, Houston Astros
Best NHL Player
Jonathan Marchessault, Vegas Golden Knights
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
David Pastrňák, Boston Bruins
Linus Ullmark, Boston Bruins
Best NBA Player
Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat
Joel Embid, Philadelphia 76ers
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Best WNBA Player
Skylar Diggins-Smith, Phoenix Mercury
Candace Parker, Chicago Sky (Current Las Vegas Aces)
Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm (Current New York Liberty)
A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces – **WINNER!
Best Driver
Brittany Force, NHRA
Kyle Larson, NASCAR
Josef Newgarden, IndyCar
Max Verstappen, F1
Best UFC Fighter
Leon Edwards
Jon Jones – **WINNER!
Islam Makhachev
Amanda Nunes
Best boxer
Gervonta Davis
DevinHaney
Claressa Shields – **WINNER!
Shakur Stevenson
Best Soccer Player
Aitana Bonmatí, Spain/Barcelona
Erling Haaland, Norway/Manchester City
Lionel Messi, Argentina/PSG
Sophia Smith, USWNT/Portland Thorns
Best Golfer
Wyndham Clark
Nelly Korda
Jon Rahm
Scottie Scheffler
Best Tennis Player
Carlos Alcaráz
Novak Djokovic
Aryna Sabalenka
Iga Swiątek
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