Title IX was referenced multiple times, and multiple athletes, namely host Stephen Curry and Best Play winner Megan Rapinoe, pleaded for the United States to bring WNBA star Brittney Griner home from her detainment in Russia.
Curry also gave the traditional opening monologue and had several skits throughout the night. He mocked plenty of NBA fans, including those of the Lakers, Celtics and Heat. At one point, he had the show “interrupted” by Draymond Green.
Among the other notable awards: Shohei Ohtani won best men’s sports athlete and Katie Ledecky won best women’s sports athlete. The Warriors won for best team.
MORE: How Stephen Curry’s game show prepared him to host ESPY Awards
The Sporting News has a complete list of winners and notable moments.
ESPYS list of categories, nominees, winners, highlights
The night began with Curry’s opening monologue, which had no shortage of jabs at teams and players around the NBA. He was even kind enough to offer Grant Williams a chance to wear one of his rings.
Later in the night, Draymond Green’s podcast stole the show.
Finally, we saw some of the jokes that were left on the cutting room floor, including Curry claiming the Celtics as his child.
Jimmy V Award for Perseverance
Winner: Dick Vitale
Pat Tillman Award for Service
Winner: Gretchen Evans
Arthur Ashe Award for Courage
Winner: Vitali Klitschko
Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year
Winner: Denver Broncos
Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award
Winner: Albert Pujols
Best Athlete, Men’s Sports
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Winner: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
Best Athlete, Women’s Sports
Oksana Masters, cross country skiing, road cycling, biathlon Sunisa Lee, gymnastics Katie Ledecky, swimming Candace Parker, basketball (Chicago Sky)
Winner: Katie Ledecky, swimming
Best Breakthrough Athlete
Trinity Rodman, Washington Spirit Eileen Gu, skier Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
Winner: Eileen Gu, skier
Best Record-Breaking Performance
Stephen Curry passes Ray Allen for most 3-pointers made in NBA history Jocelyn Alo breaks Lauren Chamberlain’s record for most home runs in Division I softball history (96) Allyson Felix, won her 11th career Olympic medal, surpassing Carl Lewis for the United States track and field record Tom Brady becomes the NFL all-time passing yards leader, overtaking Drew Brees
Winner: Stephen Curry passes Ray Allen for most 3-pointers made in NBA history
Best Championship Performance
Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams, Super Bowl 56 Julianna Peña, UFC 269 Max Verstappen, F1, Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche, Stanley Cup Final
Winner: Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams, Super Bowl 56
Best Comeback Athlete
Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors Trey Mancini, Baltimore Orioles Diamond DeShields, Phoenix Mercury Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Winner: Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
Best Play
Corner kick goal by Megan Rapinoe Justin Tucker NFL-record 66-yard field goal Ja Morant poster dunk Hansel Enmanuel play of the year
Winner: Corner kick goal by Megan Rapinoe
Best Team
Golden State Warriors, NBA Chicago Sky, WNBA Atlanta Braves, MLB Los Angeles Rams, NFL Oklahoma Sooners, NCAA softball Georgia Bulldogs, NCAA football Colorado Avalanche, NHL
Winner: Golden State Warriors, NBA
Best Olympian, Women’s Sports
Sunisa Lee, gymnastics Oksana Masters, cross country skiing, road cycling, biathlon Katie Ledecky, swimming Allyson Felix, track and field
Winner: Katie Ledecky, swimming
Best Olympian, Men’s Sports
Nathan Chen, figure skating Declan Farmer, sled hockey Nick Mayhugh, track and field Caeleb Dressel, swimming
Winner: Caeleb Dressel, swimming
Best Game
Kansas City Chiefs defeat Buffalo Bills in OT (AFC divisional round) UConn defeats N. C. State in double OT (NCAA women’s basketball Elite Eight) Kansas’ 16-point rally vs. North Carolina, the biggest comeback in championship game history (NCAA men’s basketball championship game) Bryce Young rallies Alabama to beat Auburn in four OTs (NCAA football)
Winner: Kansas City Chiefs defeat Buffalo Bills in OT (AFC divisional round)
Best College Athlete, Men’s Sports
Bryce Young, Alabama football Dante Polvara, Georgetown men’s soccer Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga men’s basketball Logan Wisnauskas, Maryland lacrosse
Winner: Bryce Young, Alabama football
Best College Athlete, Women’s Sports
Aliyah Boston, South Carolina women’s basketball Jaelin Howell, Florida State soccer Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma softball Charlotte North, Boston College lacrosse
Winner: Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma softball
Best International Athlete, Men’s Soccer
Karim Benzema, Real Madrid Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City Sadio Mané, Liverpool Kylian Mbappé, PSG
Winner: Kylian Mbappé, PSG
Best International Athlete, Women’s Soccer
Alexia Putellas, Barcelona Sam Kerr, Chelsea Vivianne Miedema, Arsenal Caroline Graham Hansen, Barcelona
Winner: Sam Kerr, Chelsea
Best NFL Player
Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams T. J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
Winner: Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
Best MLB Player
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies Aaron Judge, New York Yankees Jorge Soler, Atlanta Braves
Winner: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
Best NHL Player
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs Roman Josi, Nashville Predators Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers
Winner: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Best Driver
Kyle Larson, NASCAR Max Verstappen, F1 Steve Torrence, NHRA Álex Palou, IndyCar
Winner: Kyle Larson, NASCAR
Best NBA Player
Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Winner: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Best WNBA Player
Jonquel Jones, Connecticut Sun Sylvia Fowles, Minnesota Lynx Skylar Diggins-Smith, Phoenix Mercury Candace Parker, Chicago Sky
Winner: Candace Parker, Chicago Sky
Best Boxer
Tyson Fury Shakur Stevenson Katie Taylor Mikaela Mayer
Winner: Tyson Fury
Best MMA Fighter
Alexander Volkanovski Charles Oliveira Kamaru Usman Kayla Harrison
Winner: Charles Oliveira
Best Athlete, Men’s Golf
Scottie Scheffler Cameron Smith Justin Thomas Jon Rahm
Winner: Justin Thomas
Best Athlete, Women’s Golf
Nelly Korda Ko Jin-young Lydia Ko Minjee Lee
Winner: Nelly Korda
Best Athlete, Men’s Tennis
Rafael Nadal Dylan Alcott Carlos Alcaraz Felix Auger-Aliassime
Winner: Rafael Nadal
Best Athlete, Women’s Tennis
Emma Raducanu Ashleigh Barty Iga Świątek Leylah Fernandez
Winner: Emma Raducanu
Best Athlete, Men’s Action Sports
Eli Tomac, supercross Alex Hall, ski Yuto Horigome, skateboard Ayumu Hirano, snowboard
Winner: Eli Tomac, supercross
Best Athlete, Women’s Action Sports
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, snowboard Eileen Gu, ski Rayssa Leal, skateboard Chloe Kim, snowboard
Winner: Eileen Gu, ski
Best Jockey
Flavien Prat Irad Ortiz Jose Ortiz Joel Rosario
Winner: Jose Ortiz
Best Athlete with a Disability, Men’s Sports
Declan Farmer, sled hockey Nick Mayhugh, track and field Brad Snyder, paratriathlon & Swimming Ian Seidenfeld, table tennis
Winner: Brad Snyder, paratriathlon & swimming
Best Athlete with a Disability, Women’s Sports
Oksana Masters, cycling & Nordic/biathlon Jessica Long, swimming Brenna Huckaby, snowboarding Kate Ward, soccer
Winner: Jessica Long, swimming
Best Bowler
Jason Belmonte Anthony Simonsen Kyle Troup Dom Barrett
Winner: Kyle Troup
Best MLS PLayer
Valentin Castellanos, NYCFC Jesús Ferreira, FC Dallas Carles Gil, New England Revolution Carlos Vela, LAFC
Winner: Carlos Vela, LAFC
Best NWSL Player
Ashley Hatch, Washington Spirit Aubrey Bledsoe, Washington Spirit Jess Fishlock, OL Reign Caprice Dydasco, NJ/NY Gotham FC
Winner: Ashley Hatch, Washington Spirit
Best WWE Moment
MATCH 1
Brock Lesnar wins Royal Rumble Bianca Belair wins “Raw” women’s championship at WrestleMania
MATCH 2
John Cena returns at Money In The Bank Ronda Rousey returns four months after giving birth to win Royal Rumble
MATCH 3
WWE welcomes back fans with a full live crowd (“Smackdown,” July 16) Stone Cold stuns Vince McMahon, Austin Theory, and Pat McAfee on WrestleMania Night 2
MATCH 4
Roman Reigns defeats Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania to win both the Universal and WWE championships Cody Rhodes returns to WWE at WrestleMania
MATCH 5
Big E cashes in Money In The Bank briefcase and wins the WWE Championship (“Raw,” Sept. 13) The Miz turns on Logan Paul at WrestleMania
MATCH 6
Becky Lynch returns at SummerSlam Undertaker inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame
MATCH 7
Edge defeats Seth Rollins in a Hell In A Cell match at Crown Jewel Wee man body slams Sami Zayn at WrestleMani
MATCH 8
Brock Lesnar returns at SummerSlam to confront Roman Reigns Stone Cold returns to the ring to defeat Kevin Owens at WrestleMania
Winner: Cody Rhodes returns to WWE at WrestleMania
