The ESPYS are back and in person this year, and a ton of our favorite athletes will go head to head for a chance to receive some hardware for their efforts in their respective sports this season.
Earlier today (June 28), ESPN announced the nominees for The 2022 ESPYS, which is set to relive the highlight moments of the year, honor leading athletes and performances, and bring together the sports industry’s fan favorites and biggest stars.
Tom Brady, Stephen Curry, Allyson Felix, Chloe Kim and Aaron Rodgers lead the pack with the most nominations, while Candace Parker, Connor McDavid, Katie Ledecky, Ja Morant and Bryce Young are up for some notable awards in top categories.
Per tradition, The 2022 ESPYS will also showcase the achievements of inspiring and courageous athletes who embody the spirit of The ESPYS through three pillar awards – the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage which will be presented to Vitali Klitschko, the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance which will be presented to Dick Vitale, and The Pat Tillman Award for Service presented by MassMutual which will be presented to Gretchen Evans this year. The show also supports ESPN’s ongoing commitment to The V Foundation for Cancer Research, launched in 1993 by ESPN in partnership with the late Jim Valvano.
Fans can vote for their favorite athletes at ESPN.com/ESPYS beginning today, and can continue to do so before voting closes on Sunday, July 17th at 8PM ET. The 2022 ESPYS will then broadcast live from Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 20th at 8PM ET/5PM PT on ABC, and more details regarding hosts and special guests will be revealed at a later date.
Are you excited for The ESPYS this July? Let us know by leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets.
Keep scrolling for the full list of nominees for The 2022 ESPYS…
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
