2021 ESPY Awards: The Complete Winners List

This year’s ESPY Awards are back in action! After last year’s virtual awards ceremony, Anthony Mackie hosted the show this year live from The Rooftop at Pier 17 at the Seaport in New York City on Saturday night!

Some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment turned out to showcase the year’s greatest athletes and most incredible moments in an uplifting and inspiring night of celebration and appreciation.

Between competitive categories and special honorary awards, there was no shortage of emotional speeches and joyous celebration — especially after the uncertainty of the last year, and the excitement of getting to get together and honour the best of the best in person once again.

Check out the complete list of winners below. We will be updating throughout the show, with winners marked in bold.

Best Athlete, Men’s Sports
Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers **WINNER**
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets
Lewis Hamilton, F1

Best Athlete, Women’s Sports
Naomi Osaka, Tennis **WINNER**
Simone Biles, Gymnastics
Amanda Nunes, UFC
Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm

Best Breakthrough Athlete
Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
Chase Young, The Washington Football Team
LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets **WINNER**
Crystal Dangerfield, Minnesota Lynx

Best Game
NCAA Men’s Final Four: Gonzaga (93) vs. UCLA (90)
NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship – Stanford defeats Arizona 54-53
NFL Week 14: Baltimore Ravens 47, Cleveland Browns 42
NHL Playoffs Game 4: Winnipeg Jets sweep Edmonton Oilers in triple OT

Best College Athlete, Men’s Sports
DeVonta Smith, Alabama Football **WINNER**
Luka Garza, Iowa Basketball
Gloire Amanda, Oregon State Soccer
Trevor Lawrence, Clemson Football

Best College Athlete, Women’s Sports
Paige Bueckers, University of Connecticut Basketball **WINNER**
Madison Lilley, Kentucky Volleyball
Jaelin Howell, Florida State Soccer
Odicci Alexander, James Madison Softball

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

Best Record-Breaking Performance
Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer passes Pat Summitt for most wins in NCAA Women’s basketball history (1,099)
DeVonta Smith, Alabama Football – set records for title game catches (12) and touchdown receptions (three), and also totaled 215 yards. Alabama won, 52–24, their sixth title in 12 years, while Smith was named Offensive MVP of the championship game
Phil Mickelson, PGA Championship – oldest winner of a major tournament with his victory, Mickelson surpassed the record previously held by Julius Boros, who won the PGA Championship in 1968 at age
Russell Westbrook, Washington Wizards – breaks Oscar Robertson’s 47-year-old triple-double record with 182 **WINNER**

Best International Athlete, Men’s Soccer
Kylian Mbappè, Paris Saint-Germain/French National Team
Lionel Messi, Barcelona/Argentina National Team
Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus/Portugal National Team **WINNER**
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool/Egypt National Team

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**

Best NFL Player
Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams
Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans

Best MLB Player
Josè Abreu, Chicago White Sox
Trevor Bauer, Cincinnati Reds (2020), LA Dodgers (2021)
Corey Seager, Los Angeles Dodgers
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels

Best NHL Player
Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks

Best Driver
Scott Dixon, IndyCar
Lewis Hamilton, F1 **WINNER**
Chase Elliott, NASCAR
Erica Enders, NHRA

Best NBA Player
Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks
Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors **WINNER**
Chris Paul, Phoenix Suns

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**

Best Boxer
Canelo Álvarez
Teófimo López
Claressa Shields
Tyson Fury

Best MMA Fighter
Amanda Nunes
Khabib Nurmagomedov
Rose Namajunas
Francis Ngannou

Best Athlete, Men’s Golf
Bryson DeChambeau
Dustin Johnson
Hideki Matsuyama
Phil Mickelson

Best Athlete, Women’s Golf
Jin Young Ko
Inbee Park
Sei Young Kim
Nelly Korda

Best Athlete, Men’s Tennis
Dominic Thiem
Novak Djokovic
Daniil Medvedev
Rafael Nadal

Best Athlete, Women’s Tennis
Naomi Osaka
Ashleigh Barty
Sofia Kenin
Victoria Azarenka

Best Athlete, Men’s Action Sports
Marcus Kleveland, Snowboard (NOR)
Yūto Totsuka, Snowboard (JPN)
Gabriel Medina, Surf (BRA)
Cooper Webb, Supercross (USA)

Best Athlete, Women’s Action Sports
Chloe Kim, Snowboard (USA)
Eileen Gu, Skii (CHN)
Carissa Moore, Surf (USA)
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, Snowboard (NZL)

Best Jockey
Irad Ortiz
John Velazquez
Flavien Prat
Joel Rosario

Best Athlete With a Disability, Men’s Sports
Evan Austin, Swim
Jesse Billauer, Surf
Keith Gabel, Snowboard
Chris Nikic, Triathlon

Best Athlete With a Disability, Women’s Sports
Sam Bosco, Cycle
Oksana Masters, Nordic & Cycle
Becca Murray, Wheelchair Basketball
Leanne Smith, Swim

Best Bowler
Kyle Troup
François Lavoie
Tom Daugherty
Chris Via

Best MLS
Alejandro Pozuelo, Toronto FC
Diego Rossi, Los Angeles FC
Andre Blake, Philadelphia Union
Lucas Zelarayán, Columbus Crew

Best NWSL Player
Rachel Daly, Houston Dash
Kailen Sheridan, NJ/NY Gotham FC
Julie Ertz, Chicago Red Stars
Lynn Williams, North Carolina Courage

Best Play
Kyler Murray Launches Hail Mary to DeAndre Hopkins (11/15/2020) **WINNER**

Best WWE Moment
Sasha Banks & Bianca Belair **WINNER**

Best Championship Performance
Simone Biles **WINNER**

Jimmy V Award for Perseverance
Chris Nikic **WINNER**

Pat Tillman Award for Service
Marcus Rashford **WINNER**

Arthur Ashe Courage Award:
Maya Moore **WINNER**

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