# 2016 ESPY Awards

The 2016 ESPY Awards were held on July 13, 2016. The show, hosted by professional wrestler John Cena, was held in the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. 31 competitive awards and eight honorary awards were presented.

## Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.
| Best Male Athlete LeBron James – Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA Stephen Curry – Golden State Warriors, NBA Cam Newton – Carolina Panthers, NFL Bryce Harper – Washington Nationals, MLB | Best Female Athlete Breanna Stewart – UConn Women's Basketball Elena Delle Donne – Chicago Sky Katie Ledecky – Olympic Swimmer Simone Biles – Gymnast |
| Best Championship Performance LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers – 2016 NBA Finals Von Miller, Denver Broncos – 2016 Super Bowl Carli Lloyd, USWNT – 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins – 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs | Best Breakthrough Athlete Jake Arrieta, Chicago Cubs Conor McGregor, UFC Chloe Kim, snowboarder Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves |
| Best Record-Breaking Performance Stephen Curry – single season three-pointers made Geno Auriemma, Connecticut Huskies women's basketball – most NCAA Division I basketball titles in history Christian McCaffrey, Stanford Cardinal football – single season NCAAF all-purpose yards | Best Upset Holly Holm knocks out Ronda Rousey – UFC Middle Tennessee beats Michigan State – 2016 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Roberta Vinci defeats Serena Williams – 2015 US Open – Women's Singles |
| Best Game Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers – Game 7, 2016 NBA Finals Villanova Wildcats vs. North Carolina Tar Heels – 2016 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Arizona Cardinals vs. Green Bay Packers – 2015 NFL playoffs | Best Play Aaron Rodgers – Hail Mary pass to Richard Rodgers against Detroit Kris Jenkins, Villanova – buzzer beater in NCAA championship game Michigan State – punt block TD in the final seconds to defeat Michigan LeBron James – Game 7 block Stephen Curry – 38-foot game-winner Holly Holm – knockout of Ronda Rousey Tiffany Howard – HR robbery in the Women's College World Series Jairo Samperio – scores on scissor-kick ground Dele Alli – juggling goal for Tottenham Josh Donaldson – diving into stands Bartolo Colón – first career home run; oldest MLB player ever to hit his first homer Army softball – player leaps over tag at home Louis Oosthuizen – hole-in-one off of ball Stanford – trick play w/ circus catch Connor McDavid – goal Ole Miss – crazy 66-yard TD |
| Best Team Cleveland Cavaliers – NBA Pittsburgh Penguins – NHL Kansas City Royals – MLB Alabama Crimson Tide – NCAA Division I FBS football Connecticut Huskies – NCAA Division I women's basketball Villanova Wildcats – NCAA Division I men's basketball Denver Broncos – NFL | Best Coach/Manager Tyronn Lue – Cleveland Cavaliers Ned Yost – Kansas City Royals Geno Auriemma – Connecticut Huskies women's basketball Jay Wright – Villanova Wildcats men's basketball Nick Saban – Alabama Crimson Tide football |
| Best International Athlete Cristiano Ronaldo – Real Madrid/Portugal Novak Djokovic – Tennis Lydia Ko – LPGA Luis Suárez – FC Barcelona/Uruguay Canelo Álvarez – Boxing | Best NFL player Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers – 2015 NFL Most Valuable Player Tom Brady, New England Patriots – 2015 Second-team All-Pro J. J. Watt, Houston Texans – NFL Defensive Player of the Year Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers – Career highs in receptions (136) and receiving yards (1,834) Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons – Career highs in receptions (136) and receiving yards (1,871) |
| Best MLB player Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals – Unanimous 2015 National League MVP Josh Donaldson, Toronto Blue Jays – 2015 American League MVP Jake Arrieta, Chicago Cubs – 2015 National League Cy Young Award winner Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 2015 Silver Slugger Award winner Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers – 2015 strikeout leader | Best NHL Player Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins – Winner of the 2016 Conn Smythe Trophy (playoffs MVP) Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks – Winner of the 2016 Art Ross Trophy (leading scorer), Ted Lindsay Award (most outstanding player), and Hart Memorial Trophy (NHL MVP) Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals – Winner of the 2016 Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy (most goals) Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks – Leading goal scorer of the Stanley Cup playoffs (14) Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals – Winner of the 2016 Vezina Trophy (best goaltender) |
| Best Driver Kyle Busch, NASCAR – 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Lewis Hamilton, Formula One – 2015 Formula One World Champion Erica Enders-Stevens, NHRA – Won the 2015 NHRA Pro Stock Championship Scott Dixon, IndyCar – 2015 IndyCar Series Champion Alexander Rossi, IndyCar – 2016 Indy 500 winner | Best NBA player LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers – 2016 Finals MVP Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors – 2016 MVP Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs – 2016 Defensive Player of the Year Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder – 2016 NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder – 2016 All-Star Game MVP |
| Best WNBA Player Maya Moore, Minnesota Lynx – 2015 All-Star MVP Elena Delle Donne, Chicago Sky – 2015 WNBA MVP Angel McCoughtry, Atlanta Dream – 2015 NBA steals leader Tina Charles, New York Liberty – 2015 All-WNBA First Team DeWanna Bonner, Phoenix Mercury – 2015 All-WNBA First Team | Best Fighter Conor McGregor, UFC Gennady Golovkin, WBC Canelo Álvarez, WBC Robbie Lawler, UFC Román González, WBA |
| Best Male Golfer Jordan Spieth Jason Day Dustin Johnson Danny Willett | Best Female Golfer Lydia Ko Inbee Park Brooke Henderson Ariya Jutanugarn |
| Best Male Tennis Player Novak Djokovic Andy Murray Roger Federer | Best Female Tennis Player Serena Williams Angelique Kerber Flavia Pennetta Garbiñe Muguruza |
| Best Male College Athlete Buddy Hield, Oklahoma Sooners basketball Derrick Henry, Alabama Crimson Tide football Jordan Morris, Stanford Cardinal soccer Jarrion Lawson, Arkansas Razorbacks track & field Alex Dieringer, Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestling | Best Female College Athlete Breanna Stewart, UConn Huskies basketball Raquel Rodríguez, Penn State Nittany Lions soccer Samantha Bricio, USC Trojans indoor volleyball Taylor Cummings, Maryland Terrapins women's lacrosse Sierra Romero, Michigan Wolverines softball |
| Best Male Action Sports Athlete Ryan Dungey, American Motorcyclist Association Gus Kenworthy, Freestyle skier Nyjah Huston, Skateboarder Pedro Barros, Skateboarder Mark McMorris, Snowboarder | Best Female Action Sports Athlete Jamie Anderson, Snowboarder Chloe Kim, snowboarder Keala Kennelly, Surfer Carissa Moore, Surfer |
| Best Jockey Mario Gutierrez Kent Desormeaux Javier Castellano Irad Ortiz Jr. | Best Male Athlete with a Disability Richard Browne, Sprint runner Jo Berenyi, Track and road cyclist Aaron Fotheringham, Skateboarding and BMX tricks Nikko Landeros, Ice sledge hockey player Brad Snyder, Swimmer |
| Best Female Athlete with a Disability Tatyana McFadden Heather Erickson, Volleyball player Oksana Masters, Rower and Cross-country Skier Shawn Morelli | Best Bowler Jason Belmonte, Bowling Jesper Svensson, Bowling Ryan Ciminelli, Bowling Anthony Simonsen, Bowling |
| Best MLS Player Sebastian Giovinco, Toronto FC Kei Kamara, New England Revolution Laurent Ciman, Montreal Impact Luis Robles, New York Red Bulls | Best Comeback Athlete Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs |

## Honorary awards
### Arthur Ashe Courage Award

* Zaevion Dobson

### Jimmy V Perseverance Award

* Craig Sager

### Pat Tillman Award for Service

* Sgt. Elizabeth Marks

### Best Moment

* Cleveland Cavaliers win the NBA Finals

### Icon Award

* Abby Wambach
* Kobe Bryant
* Peyton Manning

## Presenters

* Chris Berman
* Joe Biden
* Ciara
* Stephen Curry
* Skylar Diggins
* Lisa Leslie
* David Oyelowo
* Danica Patrick
* Miles Teller
* Justin Timberlake
* Usher
* Lindsey Vonn
* Dwyane Wade
* J. J. Watt
* Russell Wilson

## Tribute

The ESPYs held a tribute to boxing legend Muhammad Ali, presented by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Chance the Rapper.

## In Memoriam

Andra Day performed during the tribute with "Rearview" honoring the fallen sports stars:
* Pat Summitt
* Buddy Ryan
* Moses Malone
* Dave Mirra
* Meadowlark Lemon
* Dwayne Washington
* Darryl Dawkins
* Ed Snider
* Mel Daniels
* Joe Garagiola
* John "Hot Rod" Williams
* Justin Wilson
* Jimmy Roberts
* Lindy Infante
* Will Smith
* Doug Atkins
* Johan Cruyff
* Ted Marchibroda
* Bud Collins
* Kimbo Slice
* Frank Gifford
* Yogi Berra
* Monte Irvin
* Louise Suggs
* Jules Bianchi
* Al Arbour
* Jim Simpson
* Clyde Lovellette
* Dave Henderson
* Stephen Keshi
* Dolph Schayes
* Gordie Howe
* Muhammad Ali