On 14 October, after coming off the bench, he scored the decisive goal in a 2–1 home win over New York Red Bulls, when he started a dribbling run past several players on the left flank, which culminated in a left-footed strike just inside the area; the win allowed Toronto FC to qualify for the MLS playoffs for the first time in their history. This goal was later nominated as a finalist for the MLS Goal of the Year Award, but was beaten out by Krisztián Németh. Several pundits praised his performances, expressing the opinion that this goal was the best goal of the season, and the greatest in Toronto FC's club history. The pundits also praised Giovinco as arguably not only one of the top players of the current MLS season, but also already as one of the greatest players in MLS history. Giovinco had just returned from international duty earlier that day, having appeared for Italy the day before in a Euro 2016 qualifying match in Rome. On 25 October 2015, Giovinco assisted Altidore in a 2–1 away defeat to Montreal in the final match of the regular season, ending the regular season with 22 goals and 16 assists, which allowed him to win the 2015 Audi MLS Golden Boot as both the joint top-scorer (alongside Kei Kamara) and the top-assist provider of the league in his first year with the club, with a record 38 combined goals and assists; as a result, he became the first MLS player ever to win both the top scorer and the top assist provider awards in the same season, as well as the first Italian and Toronto FC player to win these awards. In the playoffs, Toronto FC were eliminated in the knock-out round, following a 3–0 away defeat to domestic rivals Montreal Impact on 29 October. In November 2015, Giovinco was named one of the three finalists for both the 2015 MLS Newcomer of the Year Award and the 2015 MLS MVP Award, winning both awards on 23 November and 2 December respectively, while three days before the latter, on 29 November, he was named to the MLS Best XI. On 30 December, Giovinco was named the "Transaction of the Year" by MLS.