ESPN
The 2022 ESPYS will take place live on Wednesday, July 20, in Los Angeles, California.
Ahead of next month’s awards ceremony, ESPN announced the full list of nominees for the star-studded evening.
Among the top categories are Best Athlete, Men’s Sports,” “Best Athlete, Women’s Sports,” “Best Breakthrough Athlete,” “Best Record Breaking Performance,” “Best Championship Performance,” and “Best Comeback Athlete.”
Up for Best Athlete, Men’s Sports is none other than NBA Finals MVP Stephen Curry, NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, MLB unicorn Shohei Ohtani, and NHL star Connor McDavid. For Best Athlete, Women’s Sports, WNBA star Candace Paker, American swimmer Katie Ledecky, Gold medal gymnast Sunisa Lee, and biathlete Oksana Masters will be up for consideration.
Fans can cast their vote at ESPN.com/ESPYS.
Did your favorite athlete, team, or sports moment earn a nod?
A full look at the nominees for the 2022 ESPYS can be seen below.
2022 ESPYS 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 Parker, Chicago Sky
BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE
- Trinity Rodman, Washington Spirit
- Eileen Gu, Skier
- Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
- Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE
- Stephen Curry passes Ray Allen for most 3-pointers made in NBA history
- Jocelyn Alo breaks Lauren Chamberlain’s home run record for most in Division I history (96)
- Allyson Felix, Track & Field won her 11th career medal surpassing Carl Lewis for the United States track and field record
- Tom Brady becomes the NFL all-time passing yards leader overtaking Drew Brees
BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE
- Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams – Super Bowl LVI
- Julianna Peña, UFC 269
- Max Verstappen, F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
- Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche – Stanley Cup Finals
BEST COMEBACK ATHLETE
- Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
- Trey Mancini, Baltimore Orioles
- Diamond DeShields, Phoenix Mercury
- Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
BEST PLAY
- Unbelievable Corner Kick Goal by Megan Rapinoe
- Justin Tucker 66-yard NFL record field goal
- Ja Morant’s POSTER
- 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
BEST OLYMPIAN, WOMEN’S SPORTS
- Sunisa Lee, Gymnastics
- Oksana Masters, Cross Country Skiing, Road Cycling, Biathlon
- Katie Ledecky, Swimming
- Allyson Felix, Track & Field
BEST OLYMPIAN, MEN’S SPORTS
- Nathan Chen, Figure Skating
- Declan Farmer, Sled Hockey
- Nick Mayhugh, Track & Field
- Caeleb Dressel, Swimming
BEST GAME
- Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Buffalo Bills in an 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 SOCCER
- Karim Benzema, Real Madrid
- Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City
- Sadio Mané, Liverpool
- Kylian Mbappé, PSG
BEST INTERNATIONAL ATHLETE, WOMEN’S SOCCER
- Alexia Putellas, Barcelona
- Sam Kerr, Chelsea
- Vivianne Miedema, Arsenal
- Caroline Graham Hansen, Barcelona
BEST NFL PLAYER
- Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
- T.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
- Álex Palou, IndyCar
BEST NBA PLAYER
- Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets
- Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
- Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks
- Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
BEST WNBA PLAYER
- Jonquel Jones, Connecticut Sun
- Sylvia Fowles, Minnesota Lynx
- Skylar Diggins-Smith, Phoenix Mercury
- Candace Parker, Chicago Sky
BEST BOXER
- Tyson 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
- Ashleigh Barty
- Iga Świątek
- Leylah Fernandez
BEST ATHLETE, MEN’S ACTION SPORTS
- Eli Tomac, Supercross
- Alex Hall, Ski
- Yuto Horigome, Skateboard
- Ayumu Hirano, Snowboard
BEST ATHLETE, WOMEN’S ACTION SPORTS
- Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, Snowboard
- Eileen Gu, Ski
- Rayssa Leal, Skateboard
- Chloe Kim, Snowboard
BEST JOCKEY
- Flavien Prat
- Irad Ortiz
- Jose Ortiz
- Joel Rosario
BEST ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY, MEN’S SPORTS
- Declan Farmer, Sled Hockey
- Nick Mayhugh, Track & Field
- Brad Snyder, Paratriathlon & Swimming
- Ian Seidenfeld, Table Tennis
BEST ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY, WOMEN’S SPORTS
- Oksana Masters, Cycling & Nordic/Biathlon
- Jessica Long, Swimming
- Brenna Huckaby, Snowboarding
- Kate Ward, Soccer
BEST BOWLER
- Jason Belmonte
- Anthony Simonsen
- Kyle Troup
- Dom Barrett
BEST MLS PLAYER
- Valentin Castellanos, NYCFC
- Jesús Ferreira, FC Dallas
- Carles Gil, New England Revolution
- Carlos Vela, LAFC
BEST NWSL PLAYER
- Ashley Hatch, Washington Spirit
- Aubrey Bledsoe, Washington Spirit
- Jess Fishlock, OL Reign
- Caprice Dydasco, NJ/NY Gotham FC
BEST WWE MOMENT
MATCH 1
- Brock Lesnar wins Royal Rumble
- Bianca Belair wins RAW Women’s Championship at WrestleMania
MATCH 2
- John Cena returns at Money In The Bank
- Ronda Rousey returns 4 months after giving birth to win Royal Rumble
MATCH 3
- WWE welcomes back fans with full live crowd (Smackdown 7/16)
- Stone Cold stuns Vince McMahon, Austin Theory, and Pat McAfee on WrestleMania Night 2
MATCH 4
- Roman Reigns defeats Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania to win both the Universal & WWE Championship
- Cody Rhodes returns to WWE at WrestleMania
MATCH 5
- Big E cashes in Money In The Bank briefcase and wins WWE Championship (RAW 9/13)
- The Miz turns on Logan Paul at WrestleMania
MATCH 6
- Becky Lynch returns at SummerSlam
- Undertaker inducted into WWE Hall Of Fame
MATCH 7
- Edge defeats Seth Rollins in a Hell In A Cell match at Crown Jewel
- Wee man body slams Sami Zayn at WrestleMania MATCH 8
- Brock Lesnar returns at SummerSlam to confront Roman Reigns
- Stone Cold returns to the ring to defeat Kevin Owens at WrestleMania