Ohtani, Freeman Hope to Win Big at ESPY’s Wednesday Night

Dodgers stars Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman, along with the team, are among those hoping to bring home prizes Wednesday evening at the 2025 ESPY Awards, which will be presented at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

NBA champion Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Super Bowl champion running back Saquon Barkley and gymnast Simone Biles are also among the top nominees for the awards, which celebrate the most memorable moments and athletes in sports from the past year.

Comedian Shane Gillis will host the ceremony.

Ohtani, Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen are nominated for best athlete in men’s sports.

Biles leads the list of nominees for best athlete in women’s sports, joined by track-and-field stars Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Gabby Thomas and Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson, who won the award last year.

Biles is also nominated for best championship performance for her 2024 Olympics victory in the women’s gymnastics all-around. She will compete in the category with Stephen Curry for his performance with the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team, Dodgers World Series MVP Freddie Freeman and golfer and career Grand Slam winner Rory McIlroy.

Freeman and Ohtani are also nominated for best Major League Baseball player, along with the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge and the Detroit Tigers’ Tarik Skubal.

The Dodgers are among the nominees for best team, competing with the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, the WNBA’s New York Liberty, the Ohio State Buckeyes football team, NBA champ Oklahoma City Thunder, Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, the national champion North Carolina Tar Heels women’s lacrosse team, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team and the national champion University of Connecticut Huskies women’s basketball team.

During the ceremony, former WNBA star Diana Taurasi and former U.S. women’s soccer standout Alex Morgan will receive Icon Awards in recognition of “their incredible careers and significant impact on the world of sports.”

Also being honored during the event will be a pair of Los Angeles-area firefighters, both former athletes, in recognition of their work battling the January wildfires. Los Angeles Fire Department firefighter David Walters and L.A. County firefighter Erin Regan will both receive the Pat Tillman Award for service, which honors a person or people “with a strong connection to sports who has served others in a way that echoes the legacy of the former NFL player and U.S. Army Ranger.”

Walters is an Olympic gold-medal winning swimmer. He shares a world record in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay with Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Ricky Beren.

Regan was a goalkeeper for the Wake Forest University women’s soccer team from 1998 to 2002, earning first-team All-ACC honors. She played with the Washington Freedom in the Women’s United Soccer Association, winning the WUSA Founders Cup.

NBA legend Oscar Robertson will receive the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage during Wednesday’s ceremony, honoring his work as president of the NBA Players Association from 1965 through 1974.

Penn State women’s volleyball coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley will receive the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance for leading the team to an NCAA title while battling breast cancer. She is the first female coach to lead a team to the volleyball national championship.

Here is a complete list of ESPY nominees:

BEST ATHLETE – MEN’S SPORTS

— Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills

— Saquon Barkley – Philadelphia Eagles

— Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Oklahoma City Thunder

— Shohei Ohtani – Los Angeles Dodgers

 

BEST ATHLETE – WOMEN’S SPORTS

— Simone Biles – Gymnast

— Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone – Track & Field

— Gabby Thomas – Track & Field

— A’ja Wilson – Las Vegas Aces

 

BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE

— Cooper Flagg – Duke Men’s Basketball

— Chloe Humphrey – North Carolina Women’s Lacrosse

— Ilona Maher – Rugby

— Paul Skenes – Pittsburgh Pirates

 

BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE

— Geno Auriemma – UConn Huskies

— Caitlin Clark – Indiana Fever

— Kevin Durant – Olympic Basketball

— Alexander Ovechkin – Washington Capitals

BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE

— 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 COMEBACK ATHLETE

— Gabe Landeskog – Colorado Avalanche

— Suni Lee – Gymnast

— Mallory Swanson – USWNT/Chicago Red Stars

— Lindsey Vonn – Skiing

BEST PLAY

— 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 semifinals – 2024 Olympics

 

BEST TEAM

— Florida Panthers – NHL

— Los Angeles Dodgers – MLB

— New York Liberty – WNBA

— Ohio State Buckeyes – NCAA Football

— Oklahoma City Thunder – NBA

— Philadelphia Eagles – NFL

— North Carolina Tarheels – 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 Jokic – Denver Nuggets

— Jayson Tatum – Boston Celtics

BEST WNBA PLAYER

— 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