The Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs added to their accolades at Wednesday night’s ESPYS, winning the award for Best Team, with quarterback Patrick Mahomes honored as Best Athlete, Men’s Sports and Best NFL Player.
Mahomes has won two Super Bowls in his five seasons and was named MVP of the game each time, including this past February. He turns 28 in September.
“It was an incredible season. There was many ups, many downs,” Mahomes said. “I appreciate my teammates, my coaches, the guys that are here. I go back to camp next Tuesday, so this is a great award. But we’re going to do this thing again, we’re going to keep this thing rolling.”
Skier Mikaela Shiffrin received the award for Best Athlete, Women’s Sports. Shiffrin won her 87th World Cup race in March, breaking the mark set by Ingemar Stenmark for the most such wins by any skier. She went on to win an 88th Cup race, as well as the overall season title.
“This season was absolutely incredible and there was a lot of talk about records and it got me thinking, why is a record actually important?” Shiffrin said at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. “I just feel like it’s not important to break records or re-set records. It’s important to set the tone for the next generation, to inspire them.”
Other champions from the past year also heard their names called at the 30th ESPYS, an event that helps raise awareness and funds for the V Foundation for Cancer Research. The charity was founded by ESPN and the late basketball coach Jim Valvano at the first ESPYS in 1993.
The Denver Nuggets, who won their first NBA title last month, saw center Nikola Jokic named Best NBA Player and point guard Jamal Murray named Best Comeback Athlete.
A’ja Wilson, who led the Las Vegas Aces to their first WNBA title last season, was honored as Best WNBA Player, and Angel Reese of the NCAA women’s basketball champion LSU Tigers was named Best Breakthrough Athlete.
The award for Best Championship Performance went to Lionel Messi, who won his first World Cup with Argentina. He also was named Best Soccer Player.
Jimmy V Award for Perseverance
Chicago White Sox pitcher and cancer survivor Liam Hendriks received the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, recognizing Hendricks’ strength and resilience since his diagnosis with stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Hendriks, who was diagnosed with cancer in December and has donated $100,000 to cancer research throughout his treatment, announced in April that he was “cancer free,” before returning to the mound in May.
The 34-year-old Australian told the ESPYS audience that he pitched much of the 2022 season with cancer.
“That was an eye-opener. I didn’t feel too many symptoms but I had some lumps around. It just shows you the power of the mind. When you don’t think anything’s wrong and you believe that you can do anything, you can do anything,” Hendriks said.
“I was throwing 100 miles per hour while going through stage 4 lymphoma, and then coming back after doing eight rounds of chemotherapy and four rounds of immunotherapy and was able to get out there and throw 96 miles per hour. That isn’t physically who I am. That’s all this, that’s all mental.”
Arthur Ashe Award for Courage
The Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, which goes to a person or group in the sporting world who makes a difference far beyond the field of play, was awarded to the United States women’s national soccer team for its ongoing pursuit of equal pay.
In May 2022, unions for players on the U.S. women’s and men’s national teams approved new collective bargaining agreements with the U.S. Soccer Federation that afford the women’s team equal pay for international competition, including World Cup bonuses. The CBAs went into effect last June and run through 2028. Since then, the USWNT has continued to leverage its platform to raise awareness around pay inequity and social injustices in the U.S.
Pat Tillman Award for Service
An emotional Damar Hamlin presented members of the Buffalo Bills athletic training staff with the Pat Tillman Award for Service for the life-saving measures they took when he suffered cardiac arrest during a January game.
The Tillman award goes to a group or an individual with a strong connection to sports who has served others in a way that echoes the legacy of the former NFL player and U.S. Army Ranger.
The athletic training staff’s quick actions on the field, using CPR and an automated external defibrillator, helped resuscitate Hamlin before he was taken to a hospital for further treatment.
Hamlin, 25, announced in April that he has been cleared physically to resume playing, saying the mental journey and roller coaster of emotions has been the “hardest hurdle” in his efforts to return to playing football.
Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award: Jrue and Lauren Holiday
Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award: Jordan Adeyemi, Ashley Badis, Rishan Patel
Other Winners Announced
Best Record-Breaking Performance: Los Angeles Lakers‘ LeBron James passes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for NBA career scoring record
Best Play: Minnesota Vikings‘ Justin Jefferson makes one-handed catch against Buffalo Bills
Best College Athlete, Men’s Sports: Caleb Williams, USC football
Best College Athlete, Women’s Sports: Caitlin Clark, Iowa women’s basketball
Best Athlete With A Disability: Zach Miller, snowboarding
Best MLB Player: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
Best NHL Player: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Best Driver: Max Verstappen, F1
Best UFC Fighter: Jon Jones
Best Boxer: Claressa Shields
Best Golfer: Scottie Scheffler
Best Tennis Player: Novak Djokovic
The Associated Press contributed to this report.