Last year, the ESPY Awards were moved to June because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With sporting events postponed and canceled, the annual show was held virtually and highlighted the social achievements of athletes.
This year, the event will return to its normal format. The show will focus on athletic achievements and will honor the best athletes, teams, performances and more. Among the nominees are Tom Brady, Simone Biles, Aaron Rodgers, Chris Paul, Paige Bueckers, Naomi Osaka and DK Metcalf.
Additionally, the ESPYs will present the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance and the Pat Tillman Award for Service to Maya Moore, Chris Nikic and Marcus Rashford, respectively.
Moore, a former WNBA superstar, will receive the Arthur Ashe Award for her efforts to free Jonathan Irons from a Missouri prison. Nikic will receive the Jimmy V Award after becoming the first person with Down syndrome to complete an Ironman Triathlon last November. English soccer player Rashford will receive the Pat Tillman Award after helping to combat food poverty and hunger with his charitable efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2021 ESPYs will begin at 8 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ABC. The event will be hosted by actor Anthony Mackie, known for his role as Sam Wilson/Falcon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Below are the nominees and winners at the 2021 ESPY Awards.
MORE: Watch the 2021 ESPYs live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)
2021 ESPY Award winners by category
Below is the complete list of nominees for each category at ESPN’s 2021 ESPY Awards, including best male and female athlete.
The winners will be updated as awards are announced.
BEST ATHLETE, MEN’S SPORTS
Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1
Winner: Tom Brady
BEST ATHLETE, WOMEN’S SPORTS
Naomi Osaka, tennis Simone Biles, gymnastics Amanda Nunes, UFC Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm
Winner: Naomi Osaka
BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE
Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers Chase Young, Washington Football Team LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets Crystal Dangerfield, Minnesota Lynx
Winner: LaMelo Ball
BEST GAME
NCAA men’s basketball Final Four: Gonzaga 93, UCLA 90 NCAA women’s basketball championship: Stanford 54, Arizona 53 NFL Week 14: Ravens 47, Browns 42 NHL playoffs: Winnipeg Jets sweep Edmonton Oilers in triple OT
Winner: Gonzaga vs. UCLA
BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE, MEN’S SPORTS
DeVonta Smith, Alabama football Luka Garza, Iowa basketball Gloire Amanda, Oregon State soccer Trevor Lawrence, Clemson football
Winner: DeVonta Smith
BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE, WOMEN’S SPORTS
Paige Bueckers, Connecticut basketball Madison Lilley, Kentucky volleyball Jaelin Howell, Florida State soccer Odicci Alexander, James Madison softball
Winner: Paige Bueckers
BEST TEAM
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, NFL Stanford Cardinal, NCAA women’s basketball Baylor Bears, NCAA men’s basketball Alabama Crimson Tide, NCAA football Oklahoma Sooners, NCAA softball Seattle Storm, WNBA Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB
Winner: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE
Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer passes Pat Summitt for most wins in NCAA women’s basketball history Alabama’s DeVonta Smith in the College Football Playoff championship game Phil Mickelson at the PGA Championship Wizards’ Russell Westbrook breaks Oscar Robertson’s triple-double record
Winner: Russell Westbrook
BEST INTERNATIONAL ATHLETE, MEN’S SOCCER
Kylian Mbappe, Paris Saint-Germain/French national team Lionel Messi, Barcelona/Argentina national team Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus/Portugal national team Mohamed Salah, Liverpool/Egypt national team
Winner: Cristiano Ronaldo
BEST INTERNATIONAL ATHLETE, WOMEN’S SOCCER
Sam Kerr, Chelsea/Australia national team Fran Kirby, Chelsea/English national team Vivianne Miedema, Arsenal/Netherlands national team Sam Mewis, Manchester City/USA national team
Winner: Sam Mewis
BEST PLAY
Kyler Murray launches Hail Mary to DeAndre Hopkins (11/15/2020) Simone Biles became the first woman to land a Yurchenko double pike on vault in competition (5/22/21) Unseeded Marshall soccer scores with less than three minutes remaining in OT to claim first national title (5/17/21) Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf chases down Cardinals defensive back Budda Baker (10/25/20)
Winner: Kyler Murray’s Hail Mary
BEST NFL PLAYER
Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans
Winner: Tom Brady
BEST MLB PLAYER
Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox Trevor Bauer, Cincinnati Reds (2020), LA Dodgers (2021) Corey Seager, Los Angeles Dodgers Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
Winner: Shohei Ohtani
BEST NHL PLAYER
Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Winner: Patrick Kane
BEST DRIVER
Scott Dixon, IndyCar Lewis Hamilton, F1 Chase Elliott, NASCAR Erica Enders, NHRA
Winner: Lewis Hamilton
BEST NBA PLAYER
Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors Chris Paul, Phoenix Suns
Winner: Stephen Curry
BEST WNBA PLAYER
A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces Arike Ogunbowale, Dallas Wings Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks (2020), Chicago Sky (2021) Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm
Winner: Breanna Stewart
BEST BOXER
Canelo Alvarez Teofimo Lopez Claressa Shields Tyson Fury
Winner: Tyson Fury
BEST MMA FIGHTER
Amanda Nunes Khabib Nurmagomedov Rose Namajunas Francis Ngannou
Winner: Khabib Nurmagomedov
BEST ATHLETE, MEN’S GOLF
Bryson DeChambeau Dustin Johnson Hideki Matsuyama Phil Mickelson
Winner: Phil Mickelson
BEST ATHLETE, WOMEN’S GOLF
Jin Young Ko Inbee Park Sei Young Kim Nelly Korda
Winner: Sei Young Kim
BEST ATHLETE, MEN’S TENNIS
Dominic Thiem Novak Djokovic Daniil Medvedev Rafael Nadal
Winner: Novak Djokovic
BEST ATHLETE, WOMEN’S TENNIS
Naomi Osaka Ashleigh Barty Sofia Kenin Victoria Azarenka
Winner: Naomi Osaka
BEST ATHLETE, MEN’S ACTION SPORTS
Marcus Kleveland, snowboard (Norway) Yuto Totsuka, snowboard (Japan) Gabriel Medina, surfing (Brazil) Cooper Webb, supercross (USA)
Winner: Gabriel Medina, surfing
BEST ATHLETE, WOMEN’S ACTION SPORTS
Chloe Kim, snowboard (USA) Eileen Gu, skiing (China) Carissa Moore, surfing (USA) Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, snowboard (New Zealand)
Winner: Chloe Kim, snowboarding
BEST JOCKEY
Irad Ortiz John Velazquez Flavien Prat Joel Rosario
Winner: Joel Rosario
BEST ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY, MEN’S SPORTS
Evan Austin, swimming Jesse Billauer, surfing Keith Gabel, snowboard Chris Nikic, triathlon
Winner: Chris Nikic, triathlon
BEST ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY, WOMEN’S SPORTS
Sam Bosco, cycling Oksana Masters, Nordic & cycling Becca Murray, wheelchair basketball Leanne Smith, swimming
Winner: Becca Murray, wheelchair basketball
BEST BOWLER
Kyle Troup Francois Lavoie Tom Daugherty Chris Via
Winner: Tom Daugherty
BEST MLS PLAYER
Alejandro Pozuelo, Toronto FC Diego Rossi, Los Angeles FC Andre Blake, Philadelphia Union Lucas Zelarayan, Columbus Crew
Winner: Diego Rossi
BEST NWSL PLAYER
Rachel Daly, Houston Dash Kailen Sheridan, NJ/NY Gotham FC Julie Ertz, Chicago Red Stars Lynn Williams, North Carolina Courage
Winner: Julie Ertz
