Get excited for the ultimate night in sports entertainment! The 2025 ESPY Awards are back on Wednesday, July 16, live on ABC and ESPN Select. The annual award show promises to be a star-studded evening featuring some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment. Keep reading to get all the information you need to watch the ESPYS presented by Capital One live, from the 2025 ESPYS nominees, channel information and more.
From sports to award shows and everything in between, DIRECTV has you covered.
What are the ESPY Awards?
The ESPY Awards are an annual awards ceremony that honor outstanding achievements in the world of sports. The awards were first established in 1993 by ESPN and have continued up until today.
What does ESPY Stand for?
Though originally an acronym for “Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly,” ESPY has evolved into a well-recognized term on its own.
When are the ESPY Awards?
You can watch the event live on Wednesday, July 16 at 8 p.m. ET to find out which of your favorite athletes and teams bring home an ESPY.
How to Watch the 2024 ESPY Awards
Sport fans in the United States can tune into the biggest awards night in sports live on ABC. Fans with ESPN Select or ESPN Unlimted can also stream the event live on the platform.
Find your local ABC affiliate channel here.
Who is Hosting the ESPY Awards?
The hilarious Shane Gillis is taking a quick detour while on his international stand-up tour to grace the Dolby Theatre stage in Los Angeles as the 2025 host of the ESPYs.
While the choice of Gillis may be a bit of a left turn compared to last year’s host, Serena Williams, ESPN’s vice president and executive producer of the ESPYS, Craig Lazarus, explained:
“Shane is not only one of the top comedians today, but also a huge sports fan, which made him an easy choice to host The ESPYS.”
2025 ESPY Awards Nominations
Similar to the MTV Music Video Awards and the Billboard Music Awards, the ESPYS are powered by fan engagement. That’s right, fans have the opportunity to vote for their favorite athletes in hopes they will take home the 2025 ESPY for their given category.
Voting will be underway until 5 p.m. ET on the day of the awards, July 16, which you can find here: ESPYs Voting. Until then, here’s a look at the individual categories and the nominees for each.
Best Athlete – Men’s Sports
- Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills, NFL
- Shohei Ohtani – Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB
- Saquon Barkley – Philadelphia Eagles, NFL
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Oklahoma City Thunder, NBA
Best Athlete – Women’s Sports
- Simone Biles – Gymnastics
- Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone – Track and Field
- Gabby Thomas – Track and Field
- A’ja Wilson – Las Vegas Aces, WNBA
Best Breakthrough Athlete
- Cooper Flagg – Duke men’s basketball
- Chloe Humphrey – North Carolina women’s lacrosse
- Ilona Maher – Rugby
- Paul Skenes – Pittsburgh Pirates, MLB
Best Record-Breaking Performance
- Alexander Ovechkin scores 895th goal to break Gretzky’s NHL goals record
- Caitlin Clark has a sixth WNBA game with 25+ points and 10+ assists
- Geno Auriemma wins 1,217th game to pass Tara VanDerveer for most by any coach in NCAA basketball history
- Kevin Durant breaks USA men’s all-time Olympic basketball scoring record
Best Championship Performance
- Simone Biles – 2024 Olympics Women’s All-Around
- Stephen Curry – 2024 US Men’s Olympic Basketball
- Freddie Freeman – LA Dodgers, World Series MVP
- Rory McIlroy – Wins first Masters title, completing career Grand Slam
Best Comeback Athlete
- Suni Lee – Gymnastics
- Lindsey Vonn – Skiing
- Gabriel Landeskog – Colorado Avalanche, NHL
- Mallory Swanson – USWNT/Chicago Red Stars, NWSL
Best Play
- Saquon Barkley’s backwards hurdle – NFL (11/3/24)
- Tyrese Haliburton Calls Game!!! – NBA Finals Game 1 (6/5/25)
- Sabrina Ionescu Logo 3 Game Winner – WNBA Finals Game 3
- Trinity Rodman with the OT Goal to send USWNT to the semi-finals – 2024 Olympics
Best Team
- Florida Panthers – NHL
- Los Angeles Dodgers – MLB
- New York Liberty – WNBA
- North Carolina Tar Heels – NCAA Women’s Lacrosse
- Ohio State Buckeyes – NCAA Football
- Oklahoma City Thunder – NBA
- Philadelphia Eagles – NFL
- UConn Huskies – NCAA Women’s Basketball
- United States Women’s National Team – Soccer
Best College Athlete – Men’s Sports
- Cooper Flagg – Duke basketball
- Wyatt Hendrickson – Oklahoma State wrestling
- Travis Hunter – Colorado football
- CJ Kirst – Cornell lacrosse
Best College Athlete – Women’s Sports
- Gretchen Walsh – Virginia swimming
- Kate Faasse – North Carolina soccer
- Olivia Babcock – Pittsburgh volleyball
- JuJu Watkins – USC basketball
Best Athlete with a Disability
- Tatyana McFadden – Track and Field
- Ezra Frech – Track and Field
- Noah Elliott – Snowboard
- Grace Norman – Paratriathlon
Best NFL Player
- Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills
- Saquon Barkley – Philadelphia Eagles
- Lamar Jackson – Baltimore Ravens
- Patrick Surtain II – Denver Broncos
Best MLB Player
- Freddie Freeman – Los Angeles Dodgers
- Aaron Judge – New York Yankees
- Shohei Ohtani – Los Angeles Dodgers
- Tarik Skubal – Detroit Tigers
Best NHL Player
- Leon Draisaitl – Edmonton Oilers
- Connor Hellebuyck – Winnipeg Jets
- Nikita Kucherov – Tampa Bay Lightning
- Cale Makar – Colorado Avalanche
Best NBA Player
- Giannis Antetokounmpo – Milwaukee Bucks
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Oklahoma City Thunder
- Nikola Jokić – Denver Nuggets
- Jayson Tatum – Boston Celtics
Best WNBA Player
- Caitlin Clark – Indiana Fever
- Napheesa Collier – Minnesota Lynx
- Breanna Stewart – New York Liberty
- A’ja Wilson – Las Vegas Aces
Best Driver
Best UFC Fighter
- Dricus Du Plessis
- Merab Dvalishvili
- Kayla Harrison
- Islam Makhachev
Best Boxer
- Naoya Inoue
- Claressa Shields
- Katie Taylor
- Oleksandr Usyk
Best Soccer Player
- Aitana Bonmatí – FC Barcelona/Spain
- Christian Pulisic – AC Milan, US
- Alexia Putellas FC Barcelona/Spain
- Lamine Yamal – FC Barcelona/Spain
Best Golfer
- Nelly Korda
- Rory Mcllroy
- Scottie Scheffler
- Maja Stark
Best Tennis Player
- Carlos Alcaraz
- Coco Gauff
- Aryna Sabalenka
- Jannik Sinner
Specialty Award Nominations
Unlike the award categories above, which are voted for by fans, there are a few additional awards that are given out to honor those making a difference in the world of sports or in the greater community through sports. Below are the awards, what they are for and who will be honored at the 2025 event.
The Arthur Ashe Courage Award will be awarded to… former NBA player Oscar Robertson for his pivotal role in establishing free agency in the NBA. This award recognizes individuals in the sports community who have significantly contributed beyond their athletic achievements by advocating for their sport and creating a global impact.
Robertson served as the president of the National Basketball Association’s Players Association from 1965 to 1974, the role in which he fought for and implemented NBA free agency.
The Jimmy V Award for Perseverance will be awarded to… Penn State University women’s volleyball head coach, Katie Schumacher-Cawley, who guided her team to victory in the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship while fighting breast cancer. Diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in September 2024, she never even missed a practice session while coaching her team.
The Pat Tillman Award for Service will be awarded to… the Greater Los Angeles first responders and former athletes David Walters and Erin Regan. ESPN is presenting this award to Walters and Regan in recognition of their service and as representatives of all first responders who courageously fought the Greater Los Angeles wildfires.
Watch the 2025 ESPYs with DIRECTV
Make sure you don’t miss a moment of the 2025 ESPY Awards sponsored by Capital One Thursday, July 16th on ABC. Tune in at 8 p.m. ET to watch the award show live or record it to your DIRECTV cloud DVR and watch when it works for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are ESPYs?
The ESPY Awards is an annual ceremony that recognizes individual and team athletic achievement.
What does ESPY stand for?
ESPY stands for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly.
When are the 2025 ESPY Awards?
The 2025 ESPY Awards will be broadcast on ABC on July 16 at 8 p.m. ET.
Who is hosting the 2025 ESPYS?
Shane Gillis
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