LOS ANGELES — It’s time to celebrate and honor all the remarkable moments and people in sports from this past year with the 2024 ESPY Awards.
Hosted by tennis legend Serena Williams at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, the show will award athletes and teams across the world, with some fun sprinkled in between. The ESPY Awards will also recognize inspiring and courageous athletes with the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, the Pat Tillman Award for Service and the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award.
USA TODAY Sports has the top moments and a full list of winners from the 2024 ESPY Awards:
There is no denying the magic season the South Carolina women’s basketball team had, and they were named the best team of the past year. The team went a perfect 38-0 on the 2023-24 season en route to a national championship with a victory over the Iowa in the title game. The entire Gamecocks team was present to accept the award.
Simone Biles was named best comeback athlete as she prepares for the 2024 Paris Olympics. She has bounced back from 2020 and has dominated gymnastics, looking to add more gold to her trophy case in a few weeks.
The Maui Surfing Community was given the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award for the work it has done in helping the Hawaiian island recover for the deadly wildfires last year. Surfer Kai Lenny spoke about how devastating the wildfires were for Lahaina town and the surrounding area, and the community has banded together to get through the effects from it.
Caitlin Clark won best record-breaking performance for her breaking the Division I scoring record during her final season at Iowa. She wasn’t in attendance in Los Angeles, but did send a video message to give her thanks.
Patrick Mahomes took home best men’s athlete after he led the Kansas City Chiefs to back-to-back Super Bowl titles. Andy Reid was in attendance to accept the award on Mahomes’ behalf, and he said it’s been remarkable to see him grow as a player and as a person.
Williams did another rendition of the Jaime Foxx song, but sang it in honor of Maria Sharapova, someone she battled several times during her career. Williams did make sure to mention she beat her 20 times.
Known for his iconic blocked punt in the New Orleans Saints’ first home game back in the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina, Steve Gleason was presented the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage by former teammate Drew Brees. In 2011, Gleason was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis but he has continued to battle the disease and be an advocate for those dealing with ALS.
Gleason cried before he spoke and he even had some jokes for the audience. He talked about how he was only given three years to live when he was diagnosed but he didn’t let him live his life as much as he could.
The ESPY Award show recognized the athletes who have died in the past year, including Willie Mays, Bill Walton and Jerry West.
The legendary college football coach was given the ESPY icon award for all his achievements during his Alabama coaching tenure. Saban won six national championships at Alabama, and with the one title he won at LSU, he has the most for any coach in NCAA Division I history. He finishes his tenure in Tuscaloosa with a 201-29 record with nine SEC championships and eight College Football Playoff appearances, and he coached four Heisman Trophy winners, two of which − Mark Ingram II and Bryce Young − were on hand to present him the award.
Saban reflected on his coaching career during his speech and said what he is most proud of is his program built the foundation where former players can help out their communities, and he reminded all the athletes in attendance they have to remember sports bring people together.
Rapper and LSU women’s basketball player Flau’jae Johnson took the stage to drop some bars.
The Williams sisters and Quinta Brunson talked about the growth of women’s sports, but there’s one person they don’t want to bask in it: Kansas Chiefs kicker Harrison Butler.
“So, go ahead and enjoy women’s sports like you would any other sports, because they are sports,” Venus Williams said.
“Except you, Harrison Butker. We don’t need you,” Serena Williams added.
The South Carolina women’s basketball coach, who won her third national title in April, received the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance for her work in advocating for cancer research and bone marrow donors. Staley’s sister, Tracey Underwood, received a transplant from their brother in 2020 after being diagnosed with leukemia.
Staley said she’s been just a spectator to people dealing with cancer and there are people that dealt with real challenges that have received the award. However, she said she draws inspiration from the people with cancer that continue to fight.
A’ja Wilson was named best athlete in women’s sports, beating Caitlin Clark in the category. Wilson is coming off winning back-to-back WNBA titles with the Las Vegas Aces, and she was named 2023 WNBA Finals MVP. She was recently named one of the cover athletes of NBA 2K25, and she’s been off to a solid start of the 2024 season. Wilson is also off to a great start to the 2024 WNBA season, leading the league in points (26.9) and blocks (2.7) per game, while her 11.3 rebounds per game are second in the league behind Angel Reese.
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, received the Pat Tillman Award for Service for creating The Invictus Games, a sporting event for active duty and veteran servicemembers who have been wounded, injured or sick on the job.
Prince Harry was in attendance with wife Duchess Meghan to accept the award and he was emotional going on the stage. He said it is a great honor to highlight all the athletes that participate in The Invictus Games and reminded people of the struggles military personnel face in and after their service.
Add another award for the NBA Finals MVP as the Boston Celtics guard took home the award for best championship performance. In the five-game series win, he averaged 20.8 points, 5.0 assist and 5.4 rebounds per game.
Calling back to when Jaime Foxx sang a song dedicated to Serena Williams, the host sang a response.
Southern California guard Juju Watkins was named best breakthrough athlete after her explosive freshman basketball season with the Trojans. She averaged 27.1 points per game, second in the nation behind Caitlin Clark, and she led USC to their first Elite Eight since 1994.
The host of the 2024 ESPY Awards took some shots at Drake, siding with Kendrick Lamar in the infamous beef as she danced to his hit diss track “Not Like Us” several times.
Williams congratulated Patrick Mahomes and “Taylor Swift’s boyfriend” for winning a Super Bowl, and said “people finally realized women’s sports is way more exciting.”
This year’s award show began with a performance from Ciara. She sang a melody that featured her hits “Goodies,” “1, 2 Step” and “Level Up.”
Best MLB player: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
Best NFL player: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Best driver: Max Verstappen, F1
Best NBA player: Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
Best athlete with a disability: Brenna Huckaby, snowboarding
Best college athlete women’s sports: Caitlin Clark, Iowa
Best WNBA player: A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
Guests begin arriving on the red carpet at 5:30 p.m. ET and the show begins at 8 p.m.
ABC will broadcast the awards ceremony. Watch online via the ESPN streaming hub (local blackout restrictions apply).
Here’s a link to the full list of 2024 ESPY Award nominees. Some of the most recognizable names include Simone Biles, A’ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark, Coco Gauff, Patrick Mahomes, Jaylen Brown, Shohei Ohtani and JuJu Watkins.
Actress and comedian Quinta Brunson, comedian Nikki Glaser and actor Rob Lowe are among the celebrity presenters. Athletes presenting include Paige Bueckers, Draymond Green, Lindsey Vonn, Flau’jae Johnson, GloRilla, Allyson Felix, Damar Hamlin, Candace Parker, Brian Tyree Henry, Ryan Blaney and more.
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