2025 ESPYS Awards Nominees Revealed Featuring Caitlin Clark, Ohtani, Durant and More

Some of the brightest luminaries from the sports world will descend upon the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on July 16.

ESPN announced the full list of nominees for the 2025 ESPYS on Wednesday, with Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark among those up for two awards.

In addition to Best WNBA Player, the 23-year-old could win for Best Record-Breaking Performance after setting multiple league and team marks as a rookie.

In the midst of another prolific year at the plate and having returned to the pitching mound, the Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani is a nominee for Best Men's Athlete and Best MLB Player.

Here are all of the finalists:

2025 ESPYS Nominees

BEST ATHLETE — MEN’S SPORTS

• Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills)
• Saquon Barkley (Philadelphia Eagles)
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder)
• Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers)

BEST ATHLETE — WOMEN’S SPORTS

• Simone Biles (Gymnast)
• Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (Track & Field)
• Gabby Thomas (Track & Field)
• A'ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces)

BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE

• Cooper Flagg (Duke Men's Basketball)
• Chloe Humphrey (North Carolina Women's Lacrosse)
• Ilona Maher (Rugby)
• Paul Skenes (Pittsburgh Pirates)

BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE

• Geno Auriemma (UConn Huskies)
• Caitlin Clark (Indiana Fever)
• Kevin Durant (Olympic Basketball)
• Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals)

BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE

• Simone Biles (2024 Olympics Women's All-Around)
• Stephen Curry (US Men's Olympic Basketball Team)
• Freddie Freeman (LA Dodgers, World Series MVP)
• Rory McIlroy (Wins first Masters title, completing career Grand Slam)

BEST COMEBACK ATHLETE

• Gabe Landeskog (Colorado Avalanche)
• Suni Lee (Gymnast)
• Mallory Swanson (USWNT/Chicago Red Stars)
• Lindsey Vonn (Skiing)

BEST PLAY

• Saquon Barkley's backwards hurdle — NFL (11/3/24)
• Tyrese Haliburton Calls Game!!! — NBA Game 1 NBA Finals (6/5/25)
• Sabrina Ionescu Logo 3 Game Winner — WNBA Finals Game 3
• Trinity Rodman with the ET Goal to send USWNT to the semi-finals — 2024 Olympics

BEST TEAM

• Florida Panthers (NHL)
• Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB)
• New York Liberty (WNBA)
• Ohio State Buckeyes (NCAA Football)
• Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA)
• Philadelphia Eagles (NFL)
• North Carolina Tar Heels (NCAA Women's Lacrosse)
• United States Women's National Soccer Team
• University of Connecticut Huskies (Women's Basketball)

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

• Olivia Babcock (University of Pittsburgh Volleyball)
• Kate Faasse (North Carolina Soccer)
• Gretchen Walsh (Virginia Swimming)
• JuJu Watkins (USC Basketball)

BEST ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY

• Noah Elliott (Snowboard)
• Ezra Frech (Track & Field)
• Tatyana McFadden (Track & Field)
• Grace Norman (Paratriathlete)

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

• Joey Logano (NASCAR)
• Álex Palou (IndyCar)
• Oscar Piastri (F1)
• Max Verstappen (F1)

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

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley can potentially clean up.

The 28-year-old got nods for Best Men's Athlete and Best NFL Player after running for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns. His incredible backwards hurdle over Jacksonville cornerback Jarrian Jones is also up for Best Play and will be tough to beat.

The Eagles, meanwhile, are in the field for Best Team, so Barkley could be included in four different ESPY wins.

ESPN noted Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson can enter select company if she's crowned the Best Women's Athlete for the second time. Mia Hamm, Annika Sörenstam, Lindsey Vonn, Serena Williams and Ronda Rousey are the only others to earn that distinction.

Clark is likely to be the popular favorite after averaging 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.4 assists in 2024, with the Fever ending a seven-year playoff drought.

But Wilson was magnificent en route to being the unanimous pick for WNBA MVP. She put up 26.9 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per contest, firmly cementing herself as the best women's basketball player in the world.

For Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the ESPYS could cap off a whirlwind month.

On May 21, the 26-year-old was crowned the NBA MVP after leading the league in scoring (32.7) and guiding OKC to the best record (68-14). The three-time All-Star is also less than a week removed from winning the NBA Finals and taking home Finals MVP. In the seven-game triumph over the Indiana Pacers, he averaged 30.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal are the only players to be the NBA scoring champion, MVP and title-winner in the same season.

SGA might be adding Best NBA Player and Best Men's Athlete ESPYS to his trophy cabinet in July.