At the MLS gala awards dinner October 25 in Washington D.C., league top performers were honored. Preki had already captured the Budweiser Scoring Championship at the conclusion of the regular season.
1997 MLS Individual Award Winners
| Award | Player | Position | Team |
| Honda Most Valuable Player | Preki | M | Kansas City Wizards |
| BIC Defender of the Year | Eddie Pope | D | D.C. United |
| Pepsi Goalkeeper of the Year | Brad Friedel | GK | Columbus Crew |
| Bandai Rookie of the Year | Mike Duhaney | D | Tampa Bay Mutiny |
| Mastercard Goal of the Year | Marco Etcheverry | M | D.C. United |
| Snickers Fair Play Award | Mark Chung | M | Kansas City Wizards |
| All Sport Coach of the Year | Bruce Arena | D.C. United | |
| Umbro Golden Whistle | Esse Baharmast | Aurora, Colo. |
1997 AT&T Best Eleven Awards
| Player | Position | Team |
| Jaime Moreno | F | D.C. United |
| Ronald Cerritos | F | San Jose Clash |
| Preki | M | Kansas City Wizards |
| Marco Etcheverry | M | D.C. United |
| Mark Chung | M | Kansas City Wizards |
| Carlos Valerrama | M | Tampa Bay Mutiny |
| Eddie Pope | D | D.C. United |
| Richard Gough | D | Kansas City Wizards |
| Jeff Agoos | D | D.C. United |
| Thomas Dooley | D | Columbus Crew |
| Brad Friedel | GK | Columbus Crew |