2024 ESPY Awards: Prince Harry, Simone Biles, Patrick Mahomes and Caitlin Clark Earn Top Honors (Live Updates)

Bryan Tyree Henry and Myles Garrett presented Simone Biles with the award for Best Comeback Athlete, following her making the Unites States’ Olympic team for the third time — after withdrawing from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics due to the “twisties.”

“As we know, Simone Biles couldn’t be here tonight, so we accept this award because she’s getting ready to bring back every gold medal,” Henry told the crowd. “Simone, you are an inspiration. Simone, you are a champion. And the only person you have anything to prove to is Simone.”

Jennifer Garner, a part owner of Angel City FC, made a surprise appearance at the ESPYs to announce that her NWSL team was receiving the Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year.

“ACFC is committed to raising at least $7 million for the Los Angeles community,” Garner shared. “That’s when you know a team is run by women.”

University of Iowa standout and WNBA No. 1 draft pick Caitlin Clark won the Best Record-Breaking Performance award for her trailblazing year in college basketball.

While Clark couldn’t attend the awards due to her schedule with the Indiana Fever, she sent a video message thanking friends and fans for the the honor.

“This award means a lot, not only to myself, but to the teammates and coaches that I had at the University of Iowa,” she said. “It was a special year for all of us, and a special year in women’s athletics.”

Comedian Nikki Glaser introduced the next award with a hilarious callback to her headline-making turn at the “roast of Gisele’s ex-husband.”

While Mahomes took home the honor for the second year in a row —  joining the elite company of LeBron James, Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods as the only athletes to win the category multiple times — he was not in attendance at the awards ceremony, leaving Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid to accept the award on his behalf.

“I’ve been around this kid for a few years now, and to watch him grown as a football player, as a teammate, as a leader, has been phenomenal. But really more than that, to watch him grow as a father, as a husband, has probably been the best part.”

“It’s a real tribute to him,” he added. “We’re really lucky to have him in Kansasc City… He is all about the team.”

Steve Gleason’s former New Orleans Saints quarterback, Drew Brees, took the stage to introduce an emotional tribute to the former pro football star who is living with ALS.

The former NFL safety took the stage with his son, Rivers, to accept the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, giving his acceptance speech with the help of an assistive device.

“I suppose if you have never experienced fear, isolation or suffering, you can roll your sanctified ass right out of here,” Gleason said, to laughs from the audience. “The truth is, no human is immune from fear — not super athletes, royal princes, or the most holy saints.”

“My view is that the fears and adversities we encounter are our opportunities to experience what is, and explore what is on the other side of fear. To grow stronger, better, and have piece of mind.”

“We’re all in this together, we are all citizens of the world,” he concluded. “I don’t think anyone will disagree that we face enormous challenges in the 21st century. If we can courageously share our fears and limitations with each other, and compassionately collaborate to solve problems, our human potential is boundless.”

For catching his own pass in the AFC Championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens quarterback was awarded the Best Play of the Year award.

“I wasn’t expecting this,” he marveled in his speech. “But I appreciate my teammates, appreciate my coaching staff, appreciate my beautiful mother right here in the front.”

Former Alabama stars and Heisman winners Mark Ingram II and Bryce Young took the stage to present the Icon Award to recently-retired coach Nick Saban.

“When you talk about iconic players… it was all because of what they did,” the legendary coach said in his speech. “But when you talk about iconic coaches, it’s all about, how did you represent your team? How did your team represent you?”

Saban also sweetly thanked his wife, Terry, and his family, recalling, “We actually moved 17 times before we ever got to Alabama.”

“So I can only accept this award on behalf of the people that contributed to it. And there’s 1000 of them,” he shared. “I’ve been a part of a team since I was nine years old. So, with all this help and success, all I ever was, was the conductor of a process. And our process was to help every player be more successful in life because they were a part of the program.”

Abbott Elementary star Quinta Brunson took the stage alongside Sydni and Taelor Scott, the daughters of late ESPN legend Stuart Scott, to present University of South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley with the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance.

“I’m not perfect. I still clap back at people who troll me on social media,” Staley said in her speech, to laughs from the crowd. “But every once in a while, I remember why I fight so hard… I try my best to do things the right way, knowing some little girl out there is watching me. Maybe she’s growing up in the projects of North Philly, like I did. Or maybe she’s in a rural town somewhere.”

“Or maybe,” she continued, calling out her team members cheering in the audience, “she’s one of the 13 pairs of eyes that see every single thing I do every day.”

“How do I not fight injustice when I ask them to do things the right way? How do I not fight for fairness when I ask them to not cheat and cut corners? How do I not fight for equity when I tell them that they can climb as high as they want? How do I not fight pay disparity when I get paid less but win more?” she concluded.

“When someone tells me to shut up and coach, I simply say, ‘No. I have a job to do. I’m being watched.”

Former ESPY winner Candace Parker and U.S. track star Allyson Felix took the stage to present the award for Best Athlete – Women’s Sports to Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson.

Wilson sent a pre-taped acceptance speech in which they thanked their fans and teammates for the honor.

“It’s crazy to think that a young girl who didn’t even want to play basketball is now up for and even won an ESPY Award!” Wilson remarked, before thanking friends and family.

Three veterans and Invictus Games participants took the stage to present Prince Harry with the Pat Tillman Award for Service — honoring his own service and how he has lent his platform to support veterans around the world.

Harry began his speech by stating that he was not there “as Prince Harry, a recipient of the Pat Tillman Award, but rather as a voice of the Invictus Games Foundation.”

“This award belongs to them, not to me. That said, it it of great importance to me to highlight these allies, athletes and their amazing families for their achievements their spirit and their courage at every opportunity,” he continued. “Moments like these help us reach those that need Invictus most.”

“We live in an age marked by polariszation and division,” Harry added. “Our community proves that unity is not just possible but formidable. The beauty of the Invictus Games lies in how it brings people together

The Duke of Sussex concluded his speech by paying tribute to Pat Tillman and the Army Rangers by citing another important mantra: “No matter the road ahead, we are here for you. We will leave no one behind.”

Halle Bailey and Lamar Jackson presented the Best Championship Performance award to NBA star Jaylen Brown, for his winning season with Boston Celtics.

“Thank you to my teammates, my organization, my beautiful mother — who’s mad at me,” Brown said in his speech, drawing laughs from the crowd.

GloRilla and Draymond Green took the stage first to present the award for Best Breakthrough Athlete to University of South Carolina basketball star JuJu Watkins.

“I wanna thank all the great and powerful women that came before me and made this possible,” Watkins said in her acceptance speech after thanking her family and teammates. “I share this with all of you.”

Host Serena Williams opened the ESPYs by poking fun at the royal presence.

“Please, Harry and Meghan, try not to breathe too much tonight. Because this is my night. And I don’t want to be overshadowed by the accusations that you guys are taking up too much oxygen.”

Pat Tillman was playing linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals when the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, motivated him to enlist in the United States Army. After he was killed in a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan in April 2004, the ESPYs recognized him with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award before creating another honor in his name.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, is set to receive this year’s Pat Tillman Award, in honor of his service in the British Armed Forces, as well as his ongoing work with the Invictus Games, which allow veterans with both visible and invisible injuries from various countries to compete in Olympic-level athletic competitions. 

However, not everyone is thrilled to see the British royal earning the honor. Tillman’s mother, Mary, told the Daily Mail earlier this month that she was “shocked as to why they would select such a controversial and divisive individual to receive the award.”

“There are recipients that are far more fitting,” she continued. “There are individuals working in the veteran community that are doing tremendous things to assist veterans. These individuals do not have the money, resources, connections or privilege that Prince Harry has. I feel that those types of individuals should be recognized.”

Dawn Staley is a six-time WNBA All-Star, a three-time Olympic gold medal winner (adding one more as a coach) and now a three-time NCAA championship coach in women’s basketball — so it feels fitting that she’s earned an award for perseverance. 

The Jimmy V Award is named in honor of North Carolina State University men’s basketball coach Jim Valvano, who brought the ESPYs crowd to its feet when he accepted the 1993 Arthur Ashe Courage Award — before dying from a brutal battle with cancer just two months later.

Staley started her basketball career as a point guard, leading her college team at the University of Virginia to four NCAA tournaments, three Final Fours and one national championship game. She went on to a successful career in the WNBA and with the U.S. Olympic team before transitioning into coaching, where she has won three national championships with the University of South Carolina and another Olympic gold medal, making her one of the most dominant women’s basketball coaches in the game today.

Steve Gleason, a former NFL safety who has become a sports legend on and off the field, will accept the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at this year’s ESPYs.

After an impressive college career in both football and baseball at Washington State University, Gleason was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2000. He was later signed by the New Orleans Saints, and played six seasons with the team.

Gleason was a part of one of the most impactful plays in Saints history — blocking a punt in a September 2006 game against the Atlanta Falcons, which led to the Saints’ first touchdown in the Superdome following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina — however, it’s been his activism off the field that has made him even more of an inspiration.

In 2011, Gleason revealed that he had been diagnosed with ALS, aka Lou Gehrig’s disease, just weeks before he and his wife, Michel, learned that they were expecting their first child. Now a father of two — son Rivers and daughter Gray — Gleason’s candid depictions of his journey with the degenerative disease have earned him praise and acclaim throughout the sporting world. 

He received the 2015 George Halas Award from the Pro Football Writers Association and, in 2019, became the first NFL player to ever earn the Congressional Gold Medal, for his contributions to ALS awareness. At the 2024 ESPY Awards, he will receive the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, which has previously gone to athletes like Muhammad Ali, Pat Tillman, Robin Roberts, Pat Summit, Maya Moore and more.

In addition to the star-studded list of nominees and presenters, plenty of stars are expected to attend this year’s ESPYs, including Venus Williams, Allen Iverson, Jaylen Brown, Livvy Dunne, Nick Saban, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Chloe Kim, Sugar Ray Leonard, Lisa Leslie, John Owen Lowe, Andy Reid, Isaiah Pacheco, C.J. McCollum, Samm Levine, J.J. McCarthy, Jayden Daniels, Cooper Flagg, Nyjah Huston, Derrick White and more.

Athletes and performers alike will take the stage to present some of the night’s biggest awards, with notable names including Quinta Brunson, Rob Lowe, Daisy Ridley, Colman Domingo, Nikki Glaser, Brian Tyree Henry, Paige Bueckers, Drew Brees, Glorilla, Draymond Green, Lindsey Vonn, Bryce Young, Damar Hamlin and more.

Top nominees at this year’s awards include Simone Biles, Shohei Ohtani, Coco Gauff, Caitlin Clark, and, of course, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Mahomes is notably nominated for Best Male Athlete for his Super Bowl-winning season, and if he or Ohtani win, they’ll join the elite company of LeBron James, Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods as the only athletes to win the category multiple times.

12-time ESPY winner Serena Williams is hosting this year’s awards. 

In ET’s exclusive sneak peek at this year’s ESPYs, Williams readied fans to “celebrate the best of the best… “The ESPYs are a celebration of excellence.”

The 2024 ESPY Awards air live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Thursday, July 11, at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on ABC.