ESPN Announces 2022 ESPY Awards Nominees

ESPN has announced the nominations for the 2022 ESPY Awards, celebrating last year’s greatest sporting moments and achievements. Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors, Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers and Olympic track and field champion Allyson Felix were among those who received multiple nominations for the ceremony, which will air live July 20.

In addition to Curry and Rodgers, Los Angeles Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani and Edmonton Oilers ice hockey player Connor McDavid are up for Best Athlete, Men’s Sports. The four nominees for Best Athlete, Women’s Sports are WNBA star Candace Parker, U.S. multi-sport Paralympic champion Oksana Masters, U.S. Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky and U.S. Olympic gymnast Sunisa Lee.

In the record performance category, 11-time Olympic medalist Allyson Felix is ​​credited with setting a new track and field record in the United States, while Tom Brady is nominated for passing Drew Brees to become the all-time leader in NFL passing yards.

Other notable nominees include Warriors’ Klay Thompson for Best Returning Athlete; Nathan Chen for Best Olympian, Men’s Sports; and freestyle skier Eileen Gu and NBA player Ja Morant for Breakthrough Athlete.

See below for the full list of nominees.

BEST ATHLETE, MEN’S SPORTS

• Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
• Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
• Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
• Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

BEST ATHLETE, WOMEN’S SPORTS

• Oksana Masters, cross-country skiing, road cycling, biathlon
• Sunisa Lee, gymnastics
• Katie Ledecky, swimming
• Candace ParkerChicago Sky

BEST REVOLUTIONARY ATHLETE

• Trinity Rodman, Spirit of Washington
• Eileen Gu, skier
• Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
• Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies

RECORD BEST PERFORMANCE

• Stephen Curry passes Ray Allen for most 3-pointers in NBA history
• Jocelyn Alo breaks Lauren Chamberlain’s home run record for most in Division I history (96)
• Allyson Felix, track and field, won his 11th career medal, surpassing Carl Lewis for the United States track and field record
• Tom Brady becomes NFL’s all-time leader by overtaking Drew Brees

BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE

• Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams – Super Bowl LVI
• Julianna Pena, UFC 269
• Max Verstappen, F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
• Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche – Stanley Cup Final

BEST RETURNING ATHLETE

• Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
• Trey Mancini, Baltimore Orioles
• Diamond DeShields, Phoenix Mercury
• Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals

BEST GAME

1. Amazing Corner Kick Goal by Megan Rapinoe
2. Justin Tucker NFL record 66 yards
3. THE POSTER by Ja Morant
4. Hansel Enmanuel with the play of the year

BEST TEAM

• Golden State Warriors, NBA
• Chicago Sky, WNBA
• Atlanta Braves, MLB
• Los Angeles Rams, NFL
• Oklahoma Sooners, NCAA softball
• Georgia Bulldogs, NCAA Football
• Colorado Avalanche, NHL

TOP OLYMPIAN, WOMEN’S SPORTS

• Sunisa Lee, gymnastics
• Oksana Masters, cross-country skiing, road cycling, biathlon
• Katie Ledecky, swimming
• Allyson Felix, Athletics

BEST OLYMPIAN, MEN’S SPORTS

• Nathan Chen, figure skating
• Declan Farmer, sledge hockey
• Nick Mayhugh, Athletics
• Caeleb Dressel, Swimming

BEST GAME

• Kansas City Chiefs beat Buffalo Bills in OT thriller (AFC Divisional Game)
• UConn defeats NC State in double OT (Elite 8 NCAA Women’s Basketball)
• Kansas 16-point rally, which was the biggest comeback in championship game history (NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship)
• Bryce Young rallies Alabama to beat Auburn in four OTs (NCAA Football Iron Bowl)

BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE, MEN’S SPORTS

• Bryce Young, Alabama Football
• Dante Polvara, Georgetown Men’s Soccer
• Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga Men’s Basketball
• Logan Wisnauskas, Maryland Lacrosse

BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE, WOMEN’S SPORTS

• Aliyah Boston, South Carolina Women’s Basketball
• Jaelin Howell, Florida State Soccer
• Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma softball
• Charlotte North, Boston College Lacrosse

BEST INTERNATIONAL ATHLETE, MEN’S FOOTBALL

• Karim Benzema, Real Madrid
• Kevin De BruyneManchester City
• Sadio Mane, Liverpool
• Kylian Mbappe, PSG

BEST INTERNATIONAL ATHLETE, WOMEN’S FOOTBALL

• Alexia Putellas, Barcelona
• Sam Kerr, Chelsea
• Vivianne Miedema, Arsenal
• Caroline Graham Hansen, Barcelona

BEST NFL PLAYER

• Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
• J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers
• Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
• Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts

BEST MLB PLAYER

• Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
• Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
• Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
• Jorge Soler, Atlanta Braves

BEST NHL PLAYER

• Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
• Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
• Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers

BEST DRIVER

• Kyle Larson, NASCAR
• Max Verstappen, F1
• Steve Torrence, NHRA
• Alex Palou, IndyCar

BEST NBA PLAYER

• Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
• Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
• Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
• Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

BEST WNBA PLAYER

• Jonquel Jones, Connecticut Sun
• Sylvia Fowles, Minnesota Lynx
• Skylar Diggins-Smith, Mercury Phoenix
• Candace ParkerChicago Sky

BEST BOXER

• Tyson’s Fury
• Shakur Stevenson
• Katie Taylor
• Mikaela Mayer

BEST MMA FIGHTER

• Alexander Volkanovski
• Charles Oliveira
• Kamaru Usman
• Kayla Harrison

BEST ATHLETE, MEN’S GOLF

• Scottie Scheffler
• Cameron Smith
• Justin Thomas
• Jon Rahm

BEST ATHLETE, WOMEN’S GOLF

• Nelly Korda
• Ko Jin-young
• Lydia Ko
• Minjee Lee

BEST ATHLETE, MEN’S TENNIS

• Rafael Nadal
• Dylan Alcott
• Carlos Alcaraz
• Felix Auger-Aliassime

BEST ATHLETE, WOMEN’S TENNIS

• Emma Raducanu
• Ashley Barty
• Iga Świątek
• Leylah Fernandez

BEST ATHLETE, MEN’S ACTION SPORTS

• Eli Tomac, Supercross
• Alex Hall, skier
• Yuto Horigome, skateboard
• Ayumu Hirano, snowboard

BEST ATHLETE, WOMEN’S ACTION SPORTS

• Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, snowboard
• Eileen Gu, skier
• Rayssa Leal, skateboard
• Chloe Kim, snowboard

BEST JOCKEY

• Flavien Prat
• Irad Ortiz
• Jose Ortiz
• Joel Rosario

BEST DISABLED ATHLETE, MEN’S SPORTS

• Declan Farmer, sledge hockey
• Nick Mayhugh, Athletics
• Brad Snyder, paratriathlon and swimming
• Ian Seidenfeld, table tennis

BEST DISABLED ATHLETE, WOMEN’S SPORT

• Oksana Masters, Cycling & Nordic/Biathlon
• Jessica Long, swimming
• Brenna Huckaby, snowboard
• Kate WardFootball

BEST BOWLER

• Jason Belmonte
• Anthony Simonson
• Kyle’s Troop
• Dom Barrett

TOP MLS PLAYER

• Valentin Castellanos, NYCFC
• Jesus Ferreira, FC Dallas
• Carles Gil, New England Revolution
• Carlos Vela, LAFC

TOP NWSL PLAYER

• Ashley Hatch, Spirit of Washington
• Aubrey Bledsoe, Spirit of Washington
• Jess Fishlock, OL reigns
• Caprice Dydasco, NJ/NY Gotham FC

WWE BEST MOMENT

MATCH 1

• Brock Lesnar wins the Royal Rumble
• Bianca Belair wins the RAW Women’s Championship at WrestleMania

MATCH 2

• John Cena returns to Money In The Bank
• Ronda Rousey returns 4 months after giving birth to win the Royal Rumble

MATCH 3

• WWE Welcomes Fans Again With Full Live Crowd (Smackdown 7/16)
• Stone Cold stuns Vince McMahon, Austin Theory and Pat McAfee at WrestleMania Night 2

MATCH 4

• Roman Reigns defeats Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania to win the Universal and WWE Championships
• Cody Rhodes returns to WWE at WrestleMania

MATCH 5

• Big E cashes in the Money In The Bank briefcase and wins the WWE Championship (RAW 9/13)
• The Miz turns on Logan Paul at WrestleMania

MATCH 6

• Becky Lynch returns to SummerSlam
• Undertaker inducted into WWE Hall of Fame

MATCH 7

• Edge defeats Seth Rollins in a Hell In A Cell match at Crown Jewel
• Body of a Little Man Slams Sami Zayn at WrestleMania MATCH 8
• Brock Lesnar returns to SummerSlam to face Roman Reigns
• Stone Cold returns to the ring to defeat Kevin Owens at WrestleMania