It’s time to recognize the greatest athletes and teams in sports. Yes, the ESPY Awards are back.
This year’s ESPYS will be hosted by Serena Williams, who won 23 Grand Slams in her career. But the tennis legend will be far from the only big name in attendance at The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Thursday night’s festivities will also feature presenters such as Paige Bueckers, Draymond Green, Lindsey Vonn, Flau’jae Johnson, Damar Hamlin and Candace Parker. Several other athletes and celebrities are expected to attend the event as well.
Before Williams kicks off this year’s ESPYS show, here’s a look back at the previous winners of some of the biggest awards.
ESPY Award history: Full list of previous ESPYS winners
(Note: Traditional ESPY Awards were not handed out amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 show focused on humanitarian efforts rather than athletic achievements.)
Best Male Athlete
| Year | Award winner |
| 1993 | Michael Jordan |
| 1994 | Barry Bonds |
| 1995 | Steve Young |
| 1996 | Cal Ripken |
| 1997 | Michael Johnson |
| 1998 | Ken Griffey Jr. and Tiger Woods |
| 1999 | Mark McGwire |
| 2000 | Tiger Woods |
| 2001 | Tiger Woods |
| 2002 | Tiger Woods |
| 2003 | Lance Armstrong |
| 2004 | Lance Armstrong |
| 2005 | Lance Armstrong |
| 2006 | Lance Armstrong |
| 2007 | LaDainian Tomlinson |
| 2008 | Tiger Woods |
| 2009 | Michael Phelps |
| 2010 | Drew Brees |
| 2011 | Dirk Nowitzki |
| 2012 | LeBron James |
| 2013 | LeBron James |
| 2014 | Kevin Durant |
| 2015 | Stephen Curry |
| 2016 | LeBron James |
| 2017 | Russell Westbrook |
| 2018 | Alex Ovechkin |
| 2019 | Giannis Antetokounmpo |
| 2020 | — |
| 2021 | Tom Brady |
| 2022 | Shohei Ohtani |
| 2023 | Patrick Mahomes |
Best Female Athlete
| Year | Award winner |
| 1993 | Monica Seles |
| 1994 | Julie Krone |
| 1995 | Bonnie Blair |
| 1996 | Rebecca Lobo |
| 1997 | Amy Van Dyken |
| 1998 | Mia Hamm |
| 1999 | Chamique Holdsclaw |
| 2000 | Mia Hamm |
| 2001 | Marion Jones |
| 2002 | Venus Williams |
| 2003 | Serena Williams |
| 2004 | Diana Taurasi |
| 2005 | Annika Sorenstam |
| 2006 | Annika Sorenstam |
| 2007 | Taryne Mowatt |
| 2008 | Candace Parker |
| 2009 | Nastia Liukin |
| 2010 | Lindsey Vonn |
| 2011 | Lindsey Vonn |
| 2012 | Brittney Griner |
| 2013 | Serena Williams |
| 2014 | Ronda Rousey |
| 2015 | Ronda Rousey |
| 2016 | Breanna Stewart |
| 2017 | Simone Biles |
| 2018 | Chloe Kim |
| 2019 | Alex Morgan |
| 2020 | — |
| 2021 | Naomi Osaka |
| 2022 | Katie Ledecky |
| 2023 | Mikaela Shiffrin |
Best Breakthrough Athlete
| Year | Award winner |
| 1993 | Gary Sheffield |
| 1994 | Mike Piazza |
| 1995 | Jeff Bagwell |
| 1996 | Hideo Nomo |
| 1997 | Tiger Woods |
| 1998 | Nomar Garciaparra |
| 1999 | Randy Moss |
| 2000 | Kurt Warner |
| 2001 | Daunte Culpepper |
| 2002 | Tom Brady |
| 2003 | Alfonso Soriano |
| 2004 | LeBron James |
| 2005 | Dwyane Wade |
| 2006 | Chris Paul |
| 2007 | Devin Hester |
| 2008 | Adrian Peterson |
| 2009 | Matt Ryan |
| 2010 | Chris Johnson |
| 2011 | Blake Griffin |
| 2012 | Jeremy Lin |
| 2013 | Colin Kaepernick |
| 2014 | Richard Sherman |
| 2015 | Mo’ne Davis |
| 2016 | Jake Arrieta |
| 2017 | Dak Prescott |
| 2018 | Donovan Mitchell |
| 2019 | Saquon Barkley |
| 2020 | — |
| 2021 | LaMelo Ball |
| 2022 | Eileen Gu |
| 2023 | Angel Reese |
Best Comeback Athlete
| Year | Award winner |
| 1993 | Dave Winfield |
| 1994 | Mario Lemieux |
| 1995 | Dan Marino |
| 1996 | Michael Jordan |
| 1997 | Evander Holyfield |
| 1998 | Roger Clemens |
| 1999 | Eric Davis |
| 2000 | Lance Armstrong |
| 2001 | Andres Galarraga |
| 2002 | Jennifer Capriati |
| 2003 | Tommy Maddox |
| 2004 | Bethany Hamilton |
| 2005 | Mark Fields |
| 2006 | Tedy Bruschi |
| 2007 | — |
| 2008 | Josh Hamilton |
| 2009 | Dara Torres |
| 2010 | Kim Clijsters |
| 2011 | Mark Herzlich |
| 2012 | Matthew Stafford |
| 2013 | Adrian Peterson |
| 2014 | Russell Westbrook |
| 2015 | Rob Gronkowski |
| 2016 | Eric Berry |
| 2017 | Jordy Nelson |
| 2018 | — |
| 2019 | St. Louis Blues |
| 2020 | — |
| 2021 | — |
| 2022 | Klay Thompson |
| 2023 | Jamal Murray |
Best Coach/Manager
| Year | Award winner |
| 1993 | Jimmy Johnson |
| 1994 | Jimmy Johnson |
| 1995 | George Seifert |
| 1996 | Gary Barnett |
| 1997 | Joe Torre |
| 1998 | Jim Leyland |
| 1999 | Joe Torre |
| 2000 | Joe Torre |
| 2001 | Joe Torre |
| 2002 | Phil Jackson |
| 2003 | Jon Gruden |
| 2004 | Larry Brown |
| 2005 | Bill Belichick |
| 2006 | Bill Cowher |
| 2007 | Tony Dungy |
| 2008 | Pat Summitt |
| 2009 | Phil Jackson |
| 2010 | Phil Jackson |
| 2011 | Rick Carlisle |
| 2012 | Tom Coughlin |
| 2013 | Rick Pitino |
| 2014 | Gregg Popovich |
| 2015 | Steve Kerr |
| 2016 | Tyronn Lue |
| 2017 | Bob Hurley |
| 2018 | Aaron Feis, Scott Beigel, Chris Hixon |
| 2019 | Jim Calhoun |
| 2020 | — |
| 2021 | Tara VanDerveer |
| 2022 | — |
| 2023 | — |
Best Team
| Year | Award winner |
| 1993 | Dallas Cowboys |
| 1994 | Toronto Blue Jays |
| 1995 | New York Rangers |
| 1996 | UConn Women’s Basketball |
| 1997 | New York Yankees |
| 1998 | Denver Broncos |
| 1999 | New York Yankees |
| 2000 | U.S. Women’s Soccer |
| 2001 | New York Yankees |
| 2002 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2003 | Anaheim Angels |
| 2004 | Detroit Pistons |
| 2005 | Boston Red Sox |
| 2006 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 2007 | Indianapolis Colts |
| 2008 | Boston Celtics |
| 2009 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2010 | New Orleans Saints |
| 2011 | Dallas Mavericks |
| 2012 | Miami Heat |
| 2013 | Miami Heat |
| 2014 | Seattle Seahawks |
| 2015 | U.S. Women’s Soccer |
| 2016 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 2017 | Golden State Warriors |
| 2018 | Houston Astros |
| 2019 | U.S. Women’s Soccer |
| 2020 | — |
| 2021 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 2022 | Golden State Warriors |
| 2023 | Kansas City Chiefs |
Arthur Ashe Courage Award
| Year | Award winner |
| 1993 | Jim Valvano |
| 1994 | Steve Palermo |
| 1995 | Howard Cosell |
| 1996 | Loretta Claiborne |
| 1997 | Muhammad Ali |
| 1998 | Dean Smith |
| 1999 | Billie Jean King |
| 2000 | Dave Sanders |
| 2001 | Cathy Freeman |
| 2002 | Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham, Tom Burnett and Jeremy Glick |
| 2003 | Pat and Kevin Tillman |
| 2004 | George Weah |
| 2005 | Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah and Kim MacClaren |
| 2006 | Afghan female soccer players |
| 2007 | Trevor Ringland and Dave Cullen |
| 2008 | John Carlos and Tommie Smith |
| 2009 | Nelson Mandela |
| 2010 | Ed Thomas |
| 2011 | Dewey Bozella |
| 2012 | Pat Summitt |
| 2013 | Robin Roberts |
| 2014 | Michael Sam |
| 2015 | Caitlyn Jenner |
| 2016 | Zaevion Dobson |
| 2017 | Eunice Kennedy Shriver |
| 2018 | Survivors of USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal |
| 2019 | Bill Russell |
| 2020 | Kevin Love |
| 2021 | Maya Moore |
| 2022 | Vitali Klitschko |
| 2023 | United States women’s national soccer team |
| 2024 | Steve Gleason |
