MLS Golden Boot facts for kids
The MLS Golden Boot is a special award given to the player who scores the most goals in a Major League Soccer (MLS) season. Think of it like a trophy for the top scorer! Since 2015, it's officially called the "Audi Golden Boot" because of a sponsorship. This award started in the 2005 season. Before that, from 1996, MLS had a different award called the MLS Scoring Champion Award.
How the Top Scorer Was Chosen (1996–2004)
Before 2005, MLS used a point system to decide who was the best scorer. Players earned two points for each goal they scored and one point for each assist (when they helped a teammate score). The player with the most points won the MLS Scoring Champion Award.
| Season | Player(s) | Club(s) | Goals (2 points) | Assists (1 point) | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 |  Roy Lassiter |
Tampa Bay Mutiny | 27 | 4 | 58 |
| 1997 | Preki |
Kansas City Wizards | 12 | 17 | 41 |
| 1998 |  Stern John |
Columbus Crew | 26 | 5 | 57 |
| 1999 | Jason Kreis |
Dallas Burn | 18 | 15 | 51 |
| 2000 |  Mamadou Diallo |
Tampa Bay Mutiny | 26 | 4 | 56 |
| 2001 |  Alex Pineda Chacón |
Miami Fusion | 19 | 9 | 47 |
| 2002 | Taylor Twellman |
New England Revolution | 23 | 6 | 52 |
| 2003 | Preki (2) |
Kansas City Wizards | 12 | 17 | 41 |
| 2004 | Amado Guevara Pat Noonan |
MetroStars New England Revolution |
10 11 |
10 8 |
30 |
The MLS Golden Boot Today (2005–Present)
Since 2005, the MLS Golden Boot has been given to the player who simply scores the most goals. If two or more players score the same number of goals, the award goes to the player who also has the most assists. This helps break any ties!
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| Season | Player | Club | Goals | Games | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Taylor Twellman (2) |
New England Revolution | 17 | 25 | 0.68 |
| 2006 | Jeff Cunningham |
Real Salt Lake | 16 | 31 | 0.52 |
| 2007 |  Luciano Emilio |
D.C. United | 20 | 29 | 0.69 |
| 2008 | Landon Donovan |
Los Angeles Galaxy | 20 | 25 | 0.80 |
| 2009 | Jeff Cunningham (2) |
FC Dallas | 17 | 28 | 0.61 |
| 2010 | Chris Wondolowski |
San Jose Earthquakes | 18 | 28 | 0.64 |
| 2011 |  Dwayne De Rosario |
D.C. United | 16 | 33 | 0.48 |
| 2012 | Chris Wondolowski (2) |
San Jose Earthquakes | 27 | 32 | 0.84 |
| 2013 | Camilo Sanvezzo |
Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 22 | 32 | 0.69 |
| 2014 |  Bradley Wright-Phillips |
New York Red Bulls | 27 | 32 | 0.84 |
| 2015 |  Sebastian Giovinco |
Toronto FC | 22 | 33 | 0.67 |
| 2016 | Bradley Wright-Phillips (2) |
New York Red Bulls | 24 | 34 | 0.71 |
| 2017 |  Nemanja Nikolić |
Chicago Fire | 24 | 33 | 0.73 |
| 2018 |  Josef Martínez |
Atlanta United FC | 31 | 34 | 0.91 |
| 2019 |  Carlos Vela |
Los Angeles FC | 34 | 31 | 1.10 |
| 2020 |  Diego Rossi |
Los Angeles FC | 14 | 19 | 0.74 |
| 2021 |  Taty Castellanos |
New York City FC | 19 | 32 | 0.59 |
| 2022 |  Hany Mukhtar |
Nashville SC | 23 | 33 | 0.70 |
| 2023 |  Denis Bouanga |
Los Angeles FC | 20 | 31 | 0.65 |
See also
In Spanish: Bota de Oro de la Major League Soccer para niños
