Betting Preview for the 2023 ESPYS – Latest Odds, Expert Picks, and Predictions

It has been an incredible year for sports, and what better way to honor the top moments than an award show? That’s right, the 2023 ESPYS are coming up, and the best athletes will be there.

Do you think you know who is going to take home an award this year?

If so, you should know that online gambling sites have betting odds that you can win real money off of. Place a bet on who you think wins a certain award, and if you’re right, you win big!

I will break down the 2023 ESPYS odds for the top awards below, so let’s dive in!

Not all gambling sites will offer betting odds for the 2023 ESPY Awards, so it’s important to be signed up on one that does.

You’ll be able to find the odds for this year at BetUS, one of the top betting sites for everything.

They always offer betting odds for your favorite awards shows and have a top-notch sportsbook and casino. If you want to learn more about their site, I recommend giving this in-depth BetUS review a quick read.

You’ll be able to find the 2023 ESPYS odds for many different awards at BetUS, but for now, I’ll be breaking down the top three.

One of the biggest awards at the ESPYS every year is the Best Athlete for Men’s Sports. We have some major superstars nominated for 2023, including Patrick Mahomes, Lionel Messi, Aaron Judge, and Nikola Jokic.

Mahomes is the current favorite to win the award with -150 odds. He led the Kansas City Chiefs to a Super Bowl victory against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Chiefs’ quarterback won the Super Bowl MVP award, as well as the league MVP award.

He became the first player since Kurt Warner in 1999 and the eleventh player ever to win the league MVP award and the Super Bowl in the same season.

Lionel Messi is the next player on the list. He helped Argentina win their third World Cup and is the first soccer player to be nominated for this award. The 36-year-old won the Golden Ball award after scoring seven goals with three assists in 690 minutes played.

Aaron Judge blasted 62 home runs in the 2022 season, which broke Roger Maris’ American League record set in 1961.

Rounding out the nominees for this award is Nikola Jokic. Jokic has been dominating the NBA in the last three seasons. He won back-to-back MVP awards in 2020-21 and 2021-22, leading the Denver Nuggets to their first championship win in franchise history.

The 2023 ESPYS odds favor Mahomes to win this award, but all four nominees are coming off remarkable years.

Here are the betting odds for the Best Athlete: Women’s Sports award.

Iga Swiatek is the current favorite at +175, but A’ja Wilson, Sophia Smith, and Mikaela Shiffrin aren’t too far behind.

Swiatek has had a busy year. She made Forbes’ 30 Under 30 (Europe) list and was in the Top 100 Most Influential People in Time magazine.

The 22-year-old has spent the last 66 weeks as the number-one ranked tennis player, which is the 13th-longest stretch in WTA history.

She won her third French Open and fourth Major in 2023, becoming the first to defend the title since Justine Henin (2007).

🇵🇱 Polish Perfection 🇵🇱 @iga_swiatek becomes the first Grand Slam singles champion from Poland and does not drop a set en route to her first career title 6-4 6-1 over Kenin.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/jRuF4jE3ul

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) October 10, 2020

A’ja Wilson helped the Las Vegas Aces win the 2022 WNBA Finals after an incredible year individually. She won her second WNBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards while averaging 19.5 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game.

Sophia Smith won the NWSL Most Valuable Player and Championship Game MVP in 2022. She scored the first goal for Portland Thorns FC in the title game, which helped them win 2-0.

Mikaela Shiffrin was off her game at the 2022 Winter Olympics but looked a lot better in 2023. The 28-year-old alpine skier is considered one of the best to do it.

She won her 87th World Cup race, which gave her the most wins by any skier in history.

You can bet on individual sports, such as the NFL, NBA, or MLB, but one of the awards I wanted to highlight was for Best Play. There are so many great plays in sports, but certain ones have a storybook feel to them.

Justin Jefferson, Michael Block, Trinity Thomas, and Ally Lemos are up for this year’s award. Jefferson is the favorite to win the award with +175 odds.

The Minnesota Vikings’ wide receiver pulled off one of the most jaw-dropping and electrifying catches in NFL history against the Bills in Week 10 of the 2022 season.

Minnesota had 4th and 18 and their backs against the wall when Jefferson pulled off what’s being called the “Catch of the Century.”

NFL Films shot of the catch seen around the world – #Vikings Justin Jefferson with the play of the season.pic.twitter.com/Z5OLr98jGA

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 15, 2022

Michael Block’s hole-in-one at the PGA Championship was one of the most insane shots ever. The ball didn’t even touch any of the green and dunked right in the hole.

Trinity Thomas scored a perfect 10 to tie the All-Time NCAA record with 28, while Ally Lemos tied the National Championship game with a perfect corner.

Megan Rapinoe’s corner kick won last year’s award, so maybe Lemos has a real chance here.

These are three of the biggest awards at the ESPYS. All the nominations are deserving, but only one can win. If you are confident in your predictions, head to BetUS to place your bets and win big!

You can bet on each award whichever way you want, but it’s a good idea to stick to a few safer bets that still have decent enough odds.

Two of my favorite bets for 2023 include Lionel Messi winning Best Soccer Player and Scottie Scheffler winning Best Golfer.

Messi’s payout isn’t as exciting as others, but it’s hard to imagine anyone else winning this award. The 2023 ESPYS odds have Erling Haaland, Aitana Bonmatí, and Sophia Smith as the other three nominees, with Haaland having the best odds outside of Messi at +250.

The odds for Best Golfer favor Jon Rahm (-140), but Scottie Scheffler is right behind him. I’d argue that Scheffler has been slightly better since 2022, which makes him the more appealing option, regardless of price.

Rahm and Scheffler have won both of the last two Masters tournaments, so we can consider them even in that category.

Rahm won one other PGA Tour event in 2022 and two European Tour events as well. In 2023, he won four PGA Tour events, including his win at The Masters.

As for Scheffler, he’s won six PGA Tour events since 2022. He’s also placed more consistently at the top of each event compared to Rahm.

I was very surprised to see that Rahm was above Scheffler for this award, so I’ll gladly take him at his current price.

Safe bets are great, but you can also try your luck with longshot bets. After all, it’s hard to say if any one nominee has a higher chance of winning than another.

Also, if you can correctly predict a longshot winner, you would make some serious cash due to their odds.

My two favorite longshot bets are for Lionel Messi and Mikaela Shiffrin to win the Best Athlete awards.

These two athletes have already established themselves as some of the best to ever do it in their respective sports. What better way to honor them than to award them with an ESPY award?

They were already among the best, but if there was any doubt, their performances over the last year have put it to rest.

Lionel Messi and his 2022 World Cup. Incredible. pic.twitter.com/YQC9lJ3y0J

— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) December 20, 2022

The main reason why you’d consider betting on these players is because of their price. There are longshots for every award, but these two seem to have the best chance of actually pulling it off.

You’ll only be able to find the 2023 ESPYS odds at the best sports betting sites, so make sure you take advantage!

If you’re struggling to make 2023 ESPYS predictions, I recommend mapping out all of the awards. You can get a better idea of who you would like to bet on based on who wins other awards.

For example, I think Patrick Mahomes easily wins the award for Best NFL Player. He’s also up for the Best Athlete for Men’s Sports. I find it more appealing to bet on a longshot for that award like Messi since Mahomes is already going home with something.

Unfortunately, not all these props offer good enough payouts for the favorites or intriguing enough sleepers.

LeBron James, Patrick Mahomes, and Shohei Ohtani are -1000 favorites for their awards. They are near locks to win, which is why they are priced that way in the first place. That also means that it will be incredibly difficult for a sleeper option to win.

You could bite the bullet, take their -1000 odds, and call it a day. After all, the money you win is money you didn’t have before, right?

It’s always exciting when the ESPYS come around. We get to look back at all of the great moments from the last year of sports and honor the top athletes who entertain us on a nightly basis.

There’s a good chance you have already bet on these athletes for their games, so why not bet on them to win an award? It’s a great way to make the event even more entertaining, and it could also be a profitable experience for you.

As for my favorite bets, I will go with Scottie Scheffler winning Best Golfer and Lionel Messi winning Best Athlete for Men’s Sports.

Scheffler has been winning major events left and right and arguably better than Rahm since 2022. His +165 price has incredible value, and I’m not missing out on this opportunity.

As for Messi, I think he has a legitimate shot of winning Best Athlete for Men’s Sports. The World Cup is as big as it gets; he shined in the biggest moments.

Mahomes could very well win, but Messi’s odds are too good to pass up at +400.

If you’re tired of it being the offseason for your favorite sport, maybe try betting on the 2023 ESPYS odds to switch things up. Who knows? Maybe you’ll win more than you did during the season.

Of course, there are other betting markets that are available in the offseason as well. Check out my breakdown of the best 2023 NFL win totals if you’re ready for football season to be here.

Footnotes:

• The Washington Post provided details for Aaron Judge’s record-breaking campaign.
• Storylines and ESPY details are courtesy of ESPN.