# 2023 ESPY Awards

The 2023 ESPY Awards, the 31st annual ceremony of the ESPY Awards, was held on July 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, and broadcast by ABC.

## Ceremony information

For the first time, the ceremony forewent a single host due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. Pat McAfee delivered an opening monologue, notably including a diss towards former ESPN personality Skip Bayless.

## Winners and Nominees

| Best Athlete, Men's Sports Patrick Mahomes – Kansas City Chiefs, NFL Nikola Jokić – Denver Nuggets, NBA Aaron Judge – New York Yankees, MLB Lionel Messi – Argentina, AFA | Best Athlete, Women's Sports Mikaela Shiffrin – Ski Sophia Smith – Portland Thorns FC, NWSL Iga Świątek – Tennis A'ja Wilson – Las Vegas Aces, WNBA |
| Best Breakthrough Athlete Angel Reese – LSU Women's Basketball Caitlin Clark – Iowa Women's Basketball Brock Purdy – San Francisco 49ers, NFL Julio Rodríguez – Seattle Mariners, MLB | Best Comeback Athlete Jamal Murray – Denver Nuggets, NBA Jon Jones – UFC Alyssa Thomas – Connecticut Sun, WNBA Justin Verlander – New York Mets, Houston Astros, MLB |
| Best College Athlete, Men's Sports Caleb Williams – USC Football Duncan McGuire – Creighton soccer Brennan O'Neill – Duke lacrosse Zach Edey – Purdue Boilermakers basketball | Best College Athlete, Women's Sports Caitlin Clark – Iowa women's basketball Jordy Bahl – Oklahoma Sooners softball Izzy Scane – Northwestern lacrosse Trinity Thomas – Florida Gators gymnastics |
| Best Team Kansas City Chiefs – NFL Denver Nuggets – NBA Georgia Bulldogs, NCAA Division I FBS Las Vegas Aces – WNBA Louisiana State Tigers – NCAA Women's Basketball Oklahoma Sooners – Women's College World Series Vegas Golden Knights – NHL | Best Championship Performance Lionel Messi, Argentina – 2022 FIFA World Cup final Leon Edwards – UFC 278 Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets – NBA Finals Rose Zhang, LPGA |
| Best Athlete with a Disability Zach Miller, Snowboarding Erica McKee, Sled Hockey Team Aaron Pike, Wheelchair racing & Cross-country skiing Susannah Scaroni, Wheelchair racing | Best Play Justin Jefferson with the Catch of the Century Michael Block Hole-in-One! Ally Lemos with the perfect corner to tie the National Championship game Trinity Thomas Perfect 10 Tying the All-Time NCAA Record |
| Best Record-Breaking Performance LeBron James surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for NBA career scoring record Novak Djokovic breaks Rafael Nadal record for most Grand Slam titles (23) Mikaela Shiffrin breaks the record for the most World Cup victories with her 87th win Max Verstappen wins the Mexican Grand Prix, breaking the record for most wins in a season | Best NFL Player Patrick Mahomes – Kansas City Chiefs Nick Bosa – San Francisco 49ers Jalen Hurts – Philadelphia Eagles Justin Jefferson – Minnesota Vikings |
| Best MLB Player Shohei Ohtani – Los Angeles Angels Paul Goldschmidt – St. Louis Cardinals Aaron Judge – New York Yankees Justin Verlander – Houston Astros | Best NHL Player Connor McDavid – Edmonton Oilers Jonathan Marchessault – Vegas Golden Knights David Pastrňák – Boston Bruins Linus Ullmark – Boston Bruins |
| Best NBA Player Nikola Jokić – Denver Nuggets Jimmy Butler – Miami Heat Joel Embiid – Philadelphia 76ers Jayson Tatum – Boston Celtics | Best WNBA Player A'ja Wilson – Las Vegas Aces Skylar Diggins-Smith – Phoenix Mercury Candace Parker – Chicago Sky, Las Vegas Aces Breanna Stewart – Seattle Storm, New York Liberty |
| Best Soccer Player Lionel Messi – Argentina Aitana Bonmatí – FC Barcelona Femení Erling Haaland – Manchester City F.C. Sophia Smith – Portland Thorns FC | Best Driver Max Verstappen – Formula One Brittany Force, NHRA Kyle Larson, NASCAR Josef Newgarden, IndyCar |
| Best Golfer Scottie Scheffler Wyndham Clark Nelly Korda Jon Rahm | Best Boxer Claressa Shields Gervonta Davis Devin Haney Shakur Stevenson |
| Best UFC Fighter Jon Jones Leon Edwards Islam Makhachev Amanda Nunes | Best Tennis Player Novak Djokovic Carlos Alcaraz Aryna Sabalenka Iga Świątek |

## Honorary awards
### Jimmy V Award

* Liam Hendriks

### Arthur Ashe Courage Award

* United States women's national soccer team

### Pat Tillman Award for Service

* Buffalo Bills training staff

### Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award

* Jrue Holiday and Lauren Holiday