2025 ESPY Award Winners: See the Complete List (Live Updates)
These athletes just added a new trophy to their collection.
Indeed, the 2025 ESPY Awards hosted by Shane Gillis in Los Angeles on July 16 saw the most famous names in the athletic world come together to celebrate the past year in sports.
Leading the nominations was Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley with three nods, which included Best Athlete: Men’s Sports. Up against him in that category? Josh Allen from the Buffalo Bills, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani.
And that’s not all for Ohtani who joined an elite club of athletes—including Simone Biles—who earned two nominations that night. Biles faced off against Stephen Curry, World Series MVP Freddie Freeman and golf champion Rory McIlroy in the Best Championship Performance category, with the Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast taking the win.
What’s more, the award ceremony saw a Team USA Olympic reunion with rugby player Ilona Maher and fellow "Golden Girls" gymnasts Suni Lee and Jordan Chiles also in attendance.
And the athletic prowess wasn’t only limited to those nominated. In fact, rapper Busta Rhymes joined college basketball star Flau'jae Johnson to present the first trophy of the evening.
But the biggest award of the night was reserved for former WNBA player Diana Taurasi and former USWNT soccer star Alex Morgan who both received the Icon Award for their exemplary work in athletics. Past recipients have included Kobe Bryant and most recently Nick Saban, who were recognized for their legendary impact in sports.
Other previously announced awards included the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, which was presented to NBA player Oscar Robertson and the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, which was won by Penn State University women’s volleyball head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley.
Additionally, Greater Los Angeles first responders and former athletes David Walters and Erin Regan were honored with the Pat Tillman Award for Service.
Keep reading to find out the 2025 ESPYS winners…
Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award Recipient: Sloane Stephens
Jimmy V Award for Perseverance: Katie Schumacher-Cawley — Penn State University women’s volleyball head coach
BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE
- WINNER: Simone Biles – 2024 Olympics Women’s All-Around
- Stephen Curry – US Men’s Olympic BB team
- Freddie Freeman – LA Dodgers – World Series MVP
- Rory McIlroy – Wins first Masters title, completing career Grand Slam
BEST PLAY
- WINNER: Saquon Barkley’s backwards hurdle – NFL (11/3/24)
- Tyrese Haliburton Calls Game!!! – NBA Game 1 NBA Finals (6/5/25)
- Sabrina Ionescu Logo 3 Game Winner – WNBA Finals Game 3
- Trinity Rodman with the OT Goal to send USWNT to the semi-finals – 2024 Olympics
BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE
- Cooper Flagg – Duke Men’s Basketball
- Chloe Humphrey – North Carolina Women’s Lacrosse
- WINNER: Ilona Maher – Rugby
- Paul Skenes – Pittsburgh Pirates
BEST ATHLETE – MEN’S SPORTS
- Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills
- Saquon Barkley – Philadelphia Eagles
- WINNER: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Oklahoma City Thunder
- Shohei Ohtani – Los Angeles Dodgers
BEST ATHLETE – WOMEN’S SPORTS
- WINNER: Simone Biles – Gymnast
- Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone – Track & Field
- Gabby Thomas – Track & Field
- A’ja Wilson – Las Vegas Aces
BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE
- Geno Auriemma – UConn Huskies
- Caitlin Clark – Indiana Fever
- Kevin Durant – Olympic Basketball
- WINNER: Alexander Ovechkin – Washington Capitals
BEST COMEBACK ATHLETE
- Gabe Landeskog – Colorado Avalanche
- WINNER: Suni Lee – Gymnast
- Mallory Swanson – USWNT/Chicago Red Stars
- Lindsey Vonn – Skiing
BEST TEAM
- Florida Panthers – NHL
- Los Angeles Dodgers – MLB
- New York Liberty – WNBA
- Ohio State Buckeyes – NCAA Football
- Oklahoma City Thunder – NBA
- WINNER: Philadelphia Eagles – NFL
- North Carolina Tar Heels – NCAA Women’s Lacrosse
- United States Women’s National Team – Soccer
- University of Connecticut Huskies – Women’s Basketball
BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE – MEN’S SPORTS
- Cooper Flagg – Duke Basketball
- Wyatt Hendrickson – Oklahoma State Wrestling
- Travis Hunter – Colorado Football
- CJ Kirst – Cornell Lacrosse
BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE – WOMEN’S SPORTS
- Olivia Babcock – University of Pittsburgh Volleyball
- Kate Faasse – North Carolina Soccer
- Gretchen Walsh – Virginia Swimming
- JuJu Watkins – USC Basketball
BEST ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY
- Noah Elliott – Snowboard
- Ezra Frech – Track & Field
- Tatyana McFadden – Track & Field
- Grace Norman – Paratriathlete
BEST NFL PLAYER
- Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills
- Saquon Barkley – Philadelphia Eagles
- Lamar Jackson – Baltimore Ravens
- Patrick Surtain II – Denver Broncos
BEST MLB PLAYER
- Freddie Freeman – Los Angeles Dodgers
- Aaron Judge – New York Yankees
- Shohei Ohtani – Los Angeles Dodgers
- Tarik Skubal – Detroit Tigers
BEST NHL PLAYER
- Leon Draisaitl – Edmonton Oilers,
- Connor Hellebuyck – Winnipeg Jets
- Nikita Kucherov – Tampa Bay Lightning
- Cale Makar – Colorado Avalanche
BEST NBA PLAYER
- Giannis Antetokounmpo – Milwaukee Bucks
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Oklahoma City Thunder
- Nikola Joki – Denver Nuggets
- Jayson Tatum – Boston Celtics
BEST WNBA PLAYER
- WINNER: Caitlin Clark – Indiana Fever
- Napheesa Collier – Minnesota Lynx
- Breanna Stewart – New York Liberty
- A’ja Wilson – Las Vegas Aces
BEST DRIVER
- Joey Logano – NASCAR
- Álex Palou – IndyCar
- Oscar Piastri – F1
- Max Verstappen – F1
BEST UFC FIGHTER
- Dricus Du Plessis
- Merab Dvalishvili
- Kayla Harrison
- Islam Makhachev
BEST BOXER
- Naoya Inoue
- Claressa Shields
- Katie Taylor
- Oleksandr Usyk
BEST SOCCER PLAYER
- Aitana Bonmatí – FC Barcelona/Spain
- Christian Pulisic – AC Milan, US
- Alexia Putellas FC Barcelona/Spain
- Lamine Yamal – FC Barcelona/Spain
BEST GOLFER
- Nelly Korda
- Rory Mcllroy
- Scottie Scheffler
- Maja Stark
BEST TENNIS PLAYER
- Carlos Alcaraz
- Coco Gauff
- Aryna Sabalenka
- Jannik Sinner
Read on for all the stars at the 2025 ESPY Åwards.
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