Next to the championship games, it’s the biggest night in sports when ESPN presents the annual ESPY Awards honouring the best across a variety of sports.  The ESPY’s also pay homage to the journey and the inspirations created by the players themselves.

On Monday night during the All Star Home Run Derby, the award for Best in Baseball went to Japanese player Shohai Ohtani.

After a sports themed rap performance by Lil Wayne that had audience members out of their seats dancing, Pat McAfee welcomes the crowd and served as the host for the night.

After talking for some 15 minutes the first award was presented for Best Comeback Athlete to Denver Nuggets basketball player Jamal Murray.

Five time Olympic gold medal winner and four time WMBA champion Sue Bird recently retired from professional basketball.  She noted that while she was proud of what she did on the court, it was her work off the court that she is really proud of.  She presented the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award to Lauren and Jrue Holiday for their work in helping non-white businesses to succeed. Jrue noted that being a human is simple…just love the person next to you. 

The award for Best Athlete in Women’s Sports went to skier Mikaela Shiffrin who has set the record for the most wins in skiing.  She said that it wasn’t about setting records but about inspiring the next generation.

The award for Best Athlete in Men’s Sports went to Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.  Accepting the award, he said, “man, this is crazy.”  He thanked his teammates for “making me look good.”

Former NFL player Pat Tillman left the grid iron to don a different uniform and join the military where he gave the ultimate sacrifice.  Each year the ESPY’s presents the Pat Tillman Award for Service.  This year Kamar Hamlin presents the award to the training staff of the Buffalo Bills who on January 2, 2023 worked feverishly to save his life after Hamlin collapsed on the field during a game with the Cincinnati Bengals. Hamlin was very emotional standing on the stage before making the announcement and received a standing ovation from the audience.  In a light moment the head trainer for the Bills thanked Damar Hamlin for staying alive that night.  He noted that they were “just doing our job.”  He encouraged everyone to learn CPR and how to use the defibrillator.

The Capital One Athletic excellence trophy went to the Texas Longhorn woman and the University of Florida men.

The award for Best Championship Performance went to football player (soccer) Lionel Messi who was not in attendance.

Ava Brown and Max Clark are the Gatorade Players of the Year.

The Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year went to the NBA San Antonio Spurs for their work in the community after the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas last year.

The Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award went to 13 different people including a Special Olympics Ambassador and a Student Athlete involved with the lawsuit to end gender inequality in high school sports.

Chris Berman presented the award for the Jimmy  V Award for Perseverance to Perth, Australia native and MLB player Liam Hendricks who became an All Star pitcher after being sent to the minors a number of times.  In 2022 he was diagnosed with stage four lymphoma and in April he was declared cancer free!  On May 29, he made his return to the pitcher’s mound and MLB baseball.  He received a standing ovation as he took the stage.  He said that the real hero was his wife; telling her the award is as much hers as it is him.

The ESPY’s honour Lebron James as the all time scoring leader in the NBA – a title he earned this past February.  His family introduced James.  James noted that in 20 years he has never cheated the game…and never will.  He announced that at the end of every season he asks can he continue to give the game everything it deserves and if he can’t, it’s the day he walks away…but that day isn’t today! 

Grammy Award winning artist H.E.R. gives a performance in honour of the 30th anniversary of the V Foundation and Jimmy V’s seven immortal words “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up”.

Lebron James is among those who pay homage to Carmello Anthony for his playing on the court and his work for social injustice off the court.

The award for Breakthrough Athlete of the Year went to LSU Women’s Basketball player Angel Reese.

This summer the Team USA Women’s Soccer team will take to the turf for their third World Cup championship.  Tonight the ESPY’s honour the team for their work to battle inequality in the sport with the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage.

The award for Best Play went to NFL player Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings.

The final award of the night was for Best Team and went to NFL Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs.  Travis Kelce notes that sports teaches you about life.

Awards not presented on the live television broadcast:
Best WNBA Player: Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson
Best UFC Fighter: Jon Jones
Best Boxer: Claressa Shields