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The 2024 ESPYS took place on Thursday, July 11, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Serena Williams hosted the ceremony, which aired live on ABC. The night’s top competitive honors included Patrick Mahomes as Best Athlete, Men’s Sports; A’ja Wilson as Best Athlete, Women’s Sports; and South Carolina women’s basketball as Best Team. Steve Gleason, Dawn Staley and Prince Harry received the three marquee special awards.
When and where were the 2024 ESPYS?
ESPN’s July 11, 2024 post-event release confirms that the ceremony was held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and broadcast live on ABC. It was presented by Capital One and hosted by Serena Williams. ESPN’s advance event guide, published July 9, had listed an 8 p.m. ET ABC broadcast; that was the scheduled start time, not a separate post-event confirmation of the exact airtime. ESPN says it co-produces the ESPYS with Full Day Productions. ESPN event guide; ESPN’s July 11 recap and winner list.
Who won the 2024 ESPYS?
ESPN’s July 11 post-event release lists the following competitive-category winners. Broad athlete awards, sport-specific awards, individual honors and the team award recognize different kinds of achievement; the list is not a ranking across categories.
Major and cross-sport awards
- Best Athlete, Men’s Sports: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
- Best Athlete, Women’s Sports: A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
- Best Breakthrough Athlete: JuJu Watkins, USC women’s basketball
- Best Record-Breaking Performance: Caitlin Clark, for becoming the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader and breaking Pete Maravich’s record
- Best Championship Performance: Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
- Best Comeback Athlete: Simone Biles
- Best Play: Lamar Jackson, for catching his own pass
- Best Team: South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball
- Best College Athlete, Men’s Sports: Jayden Daniels, LSU football
- Best College Athlete, Women’s Sports: Caitlin Clark, Iowa basketball
- Best Athlete with a Disability: Brenna Huckaby, snowboarding
Sport-specific awards
- Best NFL Player: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
- Best MLB Player: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
- Best NHL Player: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
- Best NBA Player: Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks
- Best WNBA Player: A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
- Best Driver: Max Verstappen, Formula 1
- Best UFC Fighter: Sean O’Malley
- Best Boxer: Terence Crawford
- Best Soccer Player: Kylian Mbappé, France/Real Madrid
- Best Golfer: Scottie Scheffler
- Best Tennis Player: Coco Gauff
ESPN’s July 11, 2024 release is the source for the complete list.
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Who received the three marquee special awards?
ESPN presented the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage to Steve Gleason, the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance to Dawn Staley, and the Pat Tillman Award for Service to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. These honors recognize courage, perseverance and service rather than results in a competitive category.
In his acceptance speech, Prince Harry spoke about polarization and division, and about the Invictus Games’ role in bringing people together. ESPN quoted him saying, “Our community proves that unity is not just possible, but formidable.” ESPN’s July 11 recap.
Staley, the University of South Carolina women’s basketball head coach, connected leadership with speaking up: “They’re watching me. I can’t ask them to stand up for themselves if I’m sitting down. Nor can I ask them to use their voice to affect change if I’m only willing to whisper.” ESPN’s July 11 recap.
Gleason, a former New Orleans Saints player, said, “It’s clear to me that our ability to courageously share our vulnerabilities with each other is our greatest strength.” He also said, “Our human potential is boundless.” Both quotations appear in Axios’s July 12 transcript of his speech. Axios transcript.
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ESPN’s post-event list also named recipients of these honors:
- Icon Award: Nick Saban
- Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award: Maui Surfing Community
- Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award: Conor Campbell, Ayanna Shah and Hannah Smith
- Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year: Angel City Football Club
- Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award honoree: Brice Christianson
- Sports Philanthropist of the Year honorees: Boston Red Sox ownership—John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino
- Corporate Community Impact Award: JPMorganChase
These are additional honors, separate from both the competitive winners and the three marquee special-award recipients. ESPN’s July 11, 2024 release.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What were the night’s notable performances and moments?
Ciara opened the show with a medley of “Goodies,” “1, 2 Step” and “Level Up.” Williams followed with an opening monologue that joked about Kendrick Lamar and Drake, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, Will Smith, and the presence of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Williams later surprised the audience with two musical performances: one in response to Jamie Foxx’s 2003 “Tennis Ball” ode, and another about her relationship with Maria Sharapova. LSU basketball player and rapper Flau’jae Johnson performed “Pop It,” “Legendary Flow” and “Came Out A Beast.” ESPN reported these show details in its July 11 post-event release. Read the event recap.
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How were the 2024 ESPYS connected to cancer research fundraising?
The ESPYS Week fundraising effort supported the V Foundation for Cancer Research. ESPN’s July 9 event guide said it had raised more than $200 million for the foundation over the preceding 31 years. Separately, ESPN’s July 11 release quoted the V Foundation as saying it had funded over $310 million in research grants nationwide as of July 2024. Those are different measures: ESPN’s reported fundraising total and the foundation’s reported grants funded.
For the 2024 ESPYS Week effort, a donor was to match gifts up to a total of $1 million, according to ESPN’s July 11 release. That was a time-specific offer tied to the 2024 event, not a current donation match. ESPN’s July 9 event guide; ESPN’s July 11 release.
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