Lauren Betts in awe as Kiki Rice shares moments from ESPY 2025 with boyfriend and NBA Champ Cason Wallace

UCLA star Kiki Rice attended the 2025 ESPY Awards on Wednesday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Rice attended the event with her boyfriend, Cason Wallace, who is fresh off an NBA championship win with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

On Saturday, Kiki Rice gave fans a closer look at her appearance at the ESPY awards, sharing photos of herself alongside her boyfriend, Cason Wallace, from their night at the event. She was rocking a sleek black dress, accessorized with a couple of rings, a bracelet and a necklace.

Wallace, was also dressed in black, paired with a white shirt and a black patterned tie. He added stylish black shades to complete the look.

The photos sparked plenty of reactions. One of the most noticeable reactions came from Rice’s UCLA teammate, Lauren Betts. Betts dropped three comments on the post.

“My Jaw,” she wrote “Is on the floor,” she added. “😍,” she added

Other fellow basketball athletes, including Rice’s UCLA teammates, also showed love in the comments. Amanda Muse, Jaelynn Penn and Gianna Kneepkens were among those who chimed in.

“Okayyyyy!!” Kneepkens wrote. “kikster wouldn’t be at the espys without her van cleef 😌😌😌,” Muse wrote. “I fear you ate him up.. as you should,” Penn added.

Lauren Betts in awe as Kiki Rice shares moments from ESPY 2025 with boyfriend and NBA Champ Cason Wallace. (Images via Instagram @kik.rice)

Some of the basketball stars who took home major honors at the event include Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark, who was named Best WNBA Player, and Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who won Best NBA Player.

USC’s JuJu Watkins also took home the award for Best College Athlete (Women’s Sports), and Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg earned Best College Athlete (Men’s Sports).

“She has set a cultural standard of work,”: UCLA coach Cori Close on Kiki Rice’s work ethic

Last season, Kiki Rice was a key part of UCLA’s impressive run to the Final Four in the NCAA tournament. The 5-foot-11 guard ended the season with an average of 12.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.

Ahead of UCLA’s Final Four matchup against UConn in April, coach Cori Close had high praise for Kiki Rice’s leadership and work ethic, crediting her with setting the tone for the team.

“I think it’s the hardest-working team that I’ve ever been a part of, top to bottom,” Close said. “I have to kick them out all the time, of the gym. They want more. They’re incredibly hardworking. And I have to give that credit to Kiki Rice, because she has set a cultural standard of work that is contagious and pervasive. She deserves so much credit in that.”

Their tournament ended with a tough 85-51 loss to UConn in the Final Four. UConn went on to finish the job, defeating South Carolina in the championship game to claim the national title.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash