The BET Award for Sportswoman of the Year is given to the best and most successful black female athlete of the previous year. The award was originally titled Best Female Athlete, but was later changed to its current title in 2010. Serena Williams holds the records in this category for most wins (16) and most nominations (23).
Winners and nominees Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.
2000s Year Sportswoman Ref 2001 Serena Williams Laila Ali Lisa Leslie Venus Williams 2002 Serena Williams Laila Ali Lisa Leslie Vonetta Flowers Venus Williams 2003 Serena Williams Laila Ali Lisa Leslie Sheryl Swoopes Venus Williams 2004 Serena Williams Laila Ali Cheryl Ford Lisa Leslie Venus Williams 2005 Serena Williams Laila Ali Gail Devers Lisa Leslie Venus Williams 2006 Venus Williams Chamique Holdsclaw Lisa Leslie Sheryl Swoopes Serena Williams 2007 Serena Williams Swin Cash Tamika Catchings Gail Devers Lisa Leslie 2008 Candace Parker Tamika Catchings Cheryl Ford Serena Williams Venus Williams 2009 Serena Williams Tamika Catchings Lisa Leslie Candace Parker Venus Williams
2010s Year Sportswoman Ref 2010 Serena Williams Tamika Catchings Vanessa James Candace Parker Venus Williams 2011 Serena Williams Tamika Catchings Candice Dupree Maya Moore Venus Williams 2012 Serena Williams Skylar Diggins-Smith Brittney Griner Candace Parker Venus Williams 2013 Gabrielle Douglas Brittney Griner Candace Parker Serena Williams Venus Williams 2014 Serena Williams Skylar Diggins-Smith Brittney Griner Lolo Jones Venus Williams 2015 Serena Williams Skylar Diggins-Smith Brittney Griner Candace Parker Venus Williams 2016 Serena Williams Skylar Diggins-Smith Gabrielle Douglas Venus Williams Cheyenne Woods 2017 Serena Williams Simone Biles Skylar Diggins-Smith Gabrielle Douglas Venus Williams 2018 Serena Williams Elana Meyers Taylor Candace Parker Skylar Diggins-Smith Venus Williams 2019 Serena Williams Allyson Felix Candace Parker Naomi Osaka Simone Biles
2020s Year Sportswoman Ref 2020 Simone Biles Ajeé Wilson Claressa Shields Coco Gauff Naomi Osaka Serena Williams 2021 Naomi Osaka A'ja Wilson Candace Parker Claressa Shields Serena Williams Skylar Diggins-Smith 2022 Naomi Osaka Brittney Griner Candace Parker Serena Williams Sha'Carri Richardson Simone Biles 2023 Angel Reese Alexis Morris Allyson Felix Candace Parker Naomi Osaka Serena Williams Sha'Carri Richardson 2024 Angel Reese A'ja Wilson Coco Gauff Flau'jae Johnson Juju Watkins Naomi Osaka Sha'Carri Richardson Simone Biles
Multiple wins and nominations Wins 16 wins Serena Williams
2 wins Naomi Osaka
2 wins Angel Reese
Nominations
23 nominations Serena Williams
17 nominations Venus Williams
11 nominations Candace Parker
8 nominations Lisa Leslie
7 nominations Skylar Diggins-Smith
6 nominations Naomi Osaka
5 nominations Tamika Catchings Brittney Griner Laila Ali Simone Biles
3 nominations Gabrielle Douglas Sheryl Swoopes
2 nominations Gail Devers Cheryl Ford
See also BET Award for Sportsman of the Year
References