LeBron James, Shohei Ohtani and Caleb Williams were among the recipients of awards at the 2023 ESPYS Wednesday at the Dolby Theatre.
James won for best record-breaking performance for surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the NBA career scoring record. James’ wife, Savannah James, along with their children Bronny, Bryce and Zhuri made a surprise appearance to present the award to the Los Angeles Lakers’ forward.
After postgame comments following the Lakers’ final game of the season he might retire, James assured fans he will continue his career in the 2023-24 season.
“I don’t care how many more points I score or what I can and cannot do on the floor,” James said. “The real question for me is, `Can I play without cheating this game?’ The day I can’t give the game everything on the floor, is the day I’ll be done. Lucky for you guys, that day is not today.”
Ohtani, the Los Angeles Angels’ designated hitter-pitcher, won for best MLB player while Williams, USC’s Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, won for best college athlete, men’s sports.
Grammy winner Lil Wayne opened the show with a performance of “A Milli.” Fellow Grammy winner H.E.R. performed her hit “The Journey” to mark the 30th anniversary of the V Foundation supporting cancer research and the iconic 1993 ESPY speech delivered by Jim Valvano.
Presenters included NBA greats Dwyane Wade, Kyrie Irving and Chris Paul; boxer Mike Tyson; Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who suffered a dramatic on-field cardiac arrest last season; Super Bowl winner Travis Kelce; and WNBA standouts Sue Bird and Skylar Diggins-Smith.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes won for best men’s sports athlete. The other nominees were Nikola Jokic of the NBA champion Denver Nuggets; Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees; and Argentina soccer legend Lionel Messi.
Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin won for best women’s sports athlete over Portland Thorns soccer forward Sophia Smith; tennis star Iga Swiatek and A’ja Wilson of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces.
Also during the ceremony, the U.S. women’s national soccer team received the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage; Chicago White Sox pitcher/cancer survivor Liam Hendriks received the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance; and the Buffalo Bills training staff credited with saving Hamlin’s life after he collapsed on the field received the Pat Tillman Award for Service.
Here is a complete list of ESPY winners:
BEST ATHLETE, MEN’S SPORTS
— Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
BEST ATHLETE, WOMEN’S SPORTS
— Mikaela Shiffrin, Skiing
BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE
— Angel Reese, LSU Women’s Basketball
BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE
— LeBron James surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for NBA career scoring record
BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE
— Lionel Messi, Argentina – 2022 World Cup Final – scored two goals and scored in the penalty shootout to win Man of the Match and he won the Golden Ball as FIFA’s best player of the tournament
BEST COMEBACK ATHLETE
— Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets – Murray missed the entirety of last season due to a torn ACL in his left knee. He suffered the injury in a game against the Golden State Warriors on April 12, 2021, and didn’t play in the 18 months since then.
BEST PLAY
— Justin Jefferson with the NFL’s “Catch of the century”
BEST TEAM
— Kansas City Chiefs, NFL
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 WNBA PLAYER
— A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
BEST DRIVER
— Max Verstappen, F1
BEST UFC FIGHTER
— Jon Jones
BEST BOXER
— Claressa Shields
BEST SOCCER PLAYER
— Lionel Messi, Argentina/PSG
BEST GOLFER
— Scottie Scheffler
BEST TENNIS PLAYER
— Novak Djokovic