Since its debut in 1993, the ESPY Awards have undoubtedly been the biggest sporting awards show. We cannot be talking about the ESPYs without mentioning the name of NBA legend LeBron James. In the NBA, Olympic, and international basketball events, he dominated and was awarded many honors and prizes.
The ESPY Award, which recognizes individual and team athletic excellence and other sports-related activities, is one of the most distinguished honors James has received. LeBron has not only won the ESPY award multiple times but currently holds the record for most awards received by an NBA player.
James has won awards for best NBA player, championship achievements, best male athlete, and other honors. But, for the first time, James was awarded ‘The Best Record-Breaking Performance’ this year after passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the All-Time scoring record.
BREAKING: LeBron James wins the ‘Best Record-Breaking Performance’ award at the 2023 ESPYS 🔥 pic.twitter.com/iEQBeu3nm3
— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) July 13, 2023
LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers has won the award for best NBA player in the ESPY a record seven times. On the list after James is Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan, who won the award four times, including his debut year.
That’s just the award for best NBA player, but how many ESPY awards does LeBron James have with him in total?
LeBron James has 16 ESPY awards in total
LeBron James has far and away the most ESPY Awards under his belt. After his most recent victory in 2023, the King has now won the accolade 16 times. After James received the honor, he and his wife Savannah gave an incredible speech to the audience.
He began by discussing his numbered days remaining in the league but instantly gave fans a sigh of relief when he said it would not happen anytime soon. “Nobody works harder, cares more, and does more for the game of basketball than LeBron James,” his wife Savannah James said in her speech at the ESPYs.
While James is not an unfamiliar face to ESPY awards, this was the first time in his famous NBA career that he has been nominated for the greatest record-breaking performance, and he actually won it.
King James might not have been able to secure a three-peat in terms of NBA championships, but when it comes to ESPY wins, he surely has. James won in 2016, 2017, and 2018 while he was playing for his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Another NBA player that could be named after LeBron in ESPY total wins is Michael Jordan. Jordan was named ‘Best NBA Player’ in 1993, 1997, 1998, and 1999. If the award had existed in the first eight years of his career, the NBA Hall of Famer might have been crowned ‘Best NBA Player’ several more times.