The 22nd Annual ESPY Awards aired Wednesday night, honoring the biggest names in sports. Hosted by Drake, the show celebrated the moments that took our breath away, and the athletes that made them possible, as voted on by the fans.
Kevin Durant unseated Lebron James as both Best Male Athlete and Best NBA player, while his teammate, Russell Westbrook, took home the award for Best Comeback Athlete. Chris Davis‘ game-winning 109-yard return against Alabama was named Best Play, and this year’s Iron Bowl won Best Game.
Other winners included Kawhi Leonard for his performance against the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals; Peyton Manning, after his record-breaking season with the Denver Broncos; the U.S. Men’s Soccer team for their FIFA World Cup victory over Ghana; and everyone’s favorite trash talker, Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks (who also won Best Team).
Read on to replay just a few of the night’s most show-stopping moments.
During his opening monologue, Drake poked fun at a few of the night’s honorees, including the Richard Sherman and Russell Westbrook, as well as some folks who weren’t in attendance, like buddies Johnny Manziel and Lebron James. But the funniest bit came when he gave Lance Stephenson a taste of his own medicine.
Drake and Blake Griffin (or maybe Blake and Drake) engaged in an epic prank war during one of the show’s skits, which featured an especially comical appearances by “America’s sweetheart,” Chris Brown, and finished with Blake taking over as the show’s host.
The show took an emotional turn when Michael Sam was awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, after becoming the NFL’s first openly gay draft pick when he was chosen 249th by the St. Louis Rams. He delivered a tearful speech during which he quoted Arthur Ashe himself, saying, “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
SportsCenter staple Stuart Scott also brought the audience to tears when he was honored with the Jimmy V Award. Prefaced by a video that detailed his long, hard battle with cancer, Scott delivered a prolific speech about never giving up and coping with his illness, and even invited his daughter on stage to “give Dad a hug because I need one.” (There wasn’t a dry eye in the Nokia Theater.)
Dressed in all-white, cookout-chic attire, Drake proceeded to serenade the night’s “Honorable Mentions,” taking shots at everyone from Colin Kaepernick to LoLo Jones to Macklemore. He followed that up by bringing out Brian McKnight for a side-splitting ode to “the real glue that holds the sports world together” called “Sidepieces.” (At the 4:00 mark)