Athletes crowned best of best at ESPY Awards

Los Angeles, CA – Last night at the Dolby Theater stars came dressed in their best attire for the 2023 ESPY Awards (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award). This year’s sports-related achievement award show was hosted by Christine Williamson and Harry Lyles Jr. Wednesday night, H.E.R and Lil’ Wayne graced the stage to perform during the ESPYs.

Damar Hamlin gave an emotional speech as he awarded the Buffalo Bills Training staff with the Pat Tillman Award for Service. Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest during a game in January and thanks to the quick response of CPR from the training staff, they were able to revive him on the field before being transported to a local hospital.

Damar Hamlin was brought to tears when presenting the Pat Tillman Award for Service to the training staff of the Buffalo Bills ❤️ 💙 pic.twitter.com/IThNKmREyC

— ESPN (@espn) July 13, 2023

After the Lakers lost to Denver in the Western Conference Finals, LeBron gave off the impression he was thinking about potentially retiring, however, during his speech for winning Best Record-Breaking Performance he let it be known — he’s not done playing.

"Lucky for you guys, that day is not today."

Go off, Bron 😂 pic.twitter.com/4X1Fqs0PqX

— ESPN (@espn) July 13, 2023

After leading LSU to the Women’s Basketball National Title, Angel Reese was crowned as the Best Breakthrough Athlete. History was made last night as Claressa Shields became the first woman to win Best Boxer. She won the award over nominations for Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney, and Shakur Stevenson.

Lauren Holiday also gave a powerful speech with her husband Jrue Holiday on stage with her after the two won the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award.

"None of its worth it if we don't use it to empower those around us to make this world a better place for all that live in it."

Lauren Holiday with a powerful message to all athletes at the #ESPYS 👏 pic.twitter.com/iENa85euKk

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 13, 2023

Here are the results for the winners:

Best Team: Kansas City Chiefs

Best WNBA Player: A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces

Best UFC Fighter: Jon Jones

Best Comeback Athlete: Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets

Best Athlete, Men’s Sports: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

Best Athlete, Women’s Sports: Mikaela Shiffrin, Skiing

Best Championship Performance: Lionel Messi, Argentina — World Cup Final

Best Boxer: Claressa Shields

Best Breakthrough Athlete: Angel Reese, LSU Tigers Women’s Basketball

Best Play: Justin Jefferson with the catch of the century

Best Record-Breaking Performance: LeBron James surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for NBA career scoring record

LeBron James accepts his award after his family presented it to him on stage.

Best College Athlete, Men’s Sports: Caleb Williams, USC Football

Best College Athlete, Women’s Sports: Caitlin Clark, Iowa Women’s Basketball

Best Athlete with a Disability: Zach Miller, Snowboarding

Best NFL Player: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

Best MLB Player: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels

Best NHL Player: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

Best NBA Player: Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Best Driver: Max Verstappen, F1

Best Soccer Player: Lionel Messi, Argentina/PSG

Best Golfer: Scottie Scheffler

Best Tennis Player: Novak Djokovic

Arthur Ashe Award for Courage: U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team

Jimmy V Award for Perseverance: Liam Hendriks, Chicago White Sox

Pat Tillman Award for Service: Buffalo Bills training staff

Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award: Jrue and Lauren Holiday

Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award: Jordan Adeyemi, Ashley Badis, Rishan Patel