In one of the great ironies of sports media, the ESPYs are becoming less and less about the actual physical ESPY award and more about the pomp and circumstance surrounding it. And why wouldn’t it? The ESPYs themselves have little tangible value as superfluous honors on top of what all of these athletes are actually trying to win. Yes, it’s cool for the winner of Best Championship Performance to go on stage and meet Bradley Cooper or Chrissy Tiegen or whoever and get recognized for their efforts, but it’s kinda secondary to the actual winning of said championship, ya know?
And as we’ve seen in the last two years specifically, the real focus and main event of the evening is becoming the presentation of the special awards ESPN bestows, most notably the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. Last year’s speech by Stuart Scott just before his death was one of the most moving moments you’ll ever see on television. And of course, this year’s decision to honor Caitlyn Jenner with the Ashe Award has produced the predicted amounts of intrigue, debate, and eventually, ratings. On top of that, ESPN will also present the Jimmy V Perseverance Award to Devon and Leah Still and the Pat Tillman Award for Service to Danielle Green.
But with all that being said, yes, ESPN still does hand out physical ESPYs in traditional categories that fans can vote on. And for those of you wondering about the nominees for everything from Best Play to Best Game or Best Bowler to Best Action Sports Athlete, they’re all listed here for your convenience.
Best Male Athlete
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
JJ Watt, Houston Texans
Best Female Athlete
Ronda Rousey, MMA
Breanna Stewart, UConn Basketball
Lindsey Vonn, Skiing
Serena Williams, WTA
Best Championship Performance
American Pharoah, Race Horse
Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants
Lauren Haeger, Florida Softball
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Best Breakthrough Athlete
Odell Beckham Jr, New York Giants
Mo’ne Davis, Little League Baseball
Cardale Jones, Ohio State Buckeyes
Jordan Spieth, PGA
Best Record-Breaking Performance
Lauren Chamberlain hits 91st home run in NCAA softball
Devin Hester takes punt in for 20th touchdown return
Peyton Manning throws record-509th touchdown pass
Klay Thompson scores 37 points in a single quarter
Best Upset
Georgia State over Baylor, NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament
Kansas City Royals wins AL Pennant
Mississippi over Alabama, FBS
Best Game
A’s vs. Royals, MLB AL Wild Card
Spurs vs. Clippers Game 7, NBA Western Conference Quarterfinals
Patriots vs. Seahawks, Super Bowl
Best Play (bracket-style)
Odell Beckham catch vs. 16. Albany goalie lacrosse goal
Bahamas Bowl Hail Mary vs. 15. Dwayne Bravo cricket catch
Lionel Messi goal vs. 14. Jerian Grant dunk
Malcolm Butler INT vs. 13. Josh Sheehan triple back flip
Stephen Curry step back 3 vs. 12. Ameer Abdullah TD run
Ronda Rousey armbar vs. 11. Gerald Green dunk off the glass
Tyler Ennis goal vs. 10. Shoni Schimmel circus shot
Kevin Pillar catch vs. 9. Jeremy Menez goal
Best Coach/Manager
Geno Auriemma, UConn Huskies
Bill Belichick, New England Patriots
Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors
Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Blue Devils
Urban Meyer, Ohio State Buckeyes
Best Comeback Athlete
Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
Lindsey Vonn, Skiing
Best International Athlete
Novak Djokovic, ATP
Lewis Hamilton, Formula One
Lydia Ko, LPGA
Lionel Messi, Barcelona/Argentina
Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid/Portugal
Best NFL Player
Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers
DeMarco Murray, Dallas Cowboys
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
JJ Watt, Houston Texans
Best MLB Player
Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants
Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
Corey Kluber, Cleveland Indians
Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins
Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
Best NHL Player
Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks
Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
John Tavares, New York Islanders
Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks
Best Driver
Erica Enders-Stevens, NHRA
Lewis Hamilton, Formula One
Kevin Harvick, NASCAR
Juan Pablo Montoya, IndyCar
Will Power, IndyCar
Best NBA Player
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
James Harden, Houston Rockets
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
Best WNBA Player
Skylar Diggins, Tulsa Shock
Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury
Maya Moore, Minnesota Lynx
Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks
Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury
Best Fighter
Donald Cerrone, MMA
Terence Crawford, Boxing
Gennady Golovkin (GGG), Boxing
Floyd Mayweather Jr, Boxing
Ronda Rousey, MMA
Best Male Golfer
Rory McIlroy
Jordan Spieth, Men’s Golf
Billy Horschel
Best Female Golfer
Lydia Ko
Stacy Lewis
Inbee Park
Best Male Tennis Player
Marin Cilic
Novak Djokovic
Roger Federer
Stan Wawrinka
Best Female Tennis Player
Simona Halep
Petra Kvitova
Maria Sharapova
Serena Williams
Best Male College Athlete
Jack Eichel, Boston University Hockey
Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin Basketball
Marcus Mariota, Oregon Football
Logan Stieber, Ohio State Wrestling
Dansby Swanson, Vanderbilt Baseball
Best Female College Athlete
Taylor Cummings, Maryland Lacrosse
Missy Franklin, Cal Swimming
Lauren Haeger, Florida Softball
Micha Hancock, Penn State Volleyball
Breanna Stewart, Connecticut Basketball
Best Male Action Sports Athlete
Ryan Dungey, Motocross
Tucker Hibbert, SnoCross
Nyjah Huston, Skateboarding
Mark McMorris, Snowboarding
Josh Sheehan, Freestyle Motocross
Best Female Action Sports Athlete
Paige Alms, Surfing
Kelly Clark, Snowboarding
Stephanie Gilmore, Surfing
Laia Sanz, Enduro/motorbike
Best Jockey
Javier Castellano
Victor Espinoza
Joel Rosario
Best Male Athlete with a Disability
Joe Berenyi, Cycling
Josh Pauls, Sled Hockey
Krige Schabort, Triathlon
Mike Shea, Snowboarding
Andy Soule, Nordic Skiing
Best Female Athlete with a Disability
Kendall Gretsch, Triathlon
Tatyana McFadden, Track and Field
Becca Meyers, Swimming
Greta Neimanas, Cycling
Best Bowler
Jason Belmonte
Parker Bohn III
Mike Fagan
Best MLS Player
Robbie Keane, Los Angeles Galaxy
Obafemi Martins, Seattle Sounders
Lee Nguyen, New England Revolution
Bradley Wright-Phillips, New York Red Bulls
If you’d like to vote for the 2015 ESPYs, go to this link here. The ESPYs are televised on ABC at 8 PM ET on Wednesday, July 15th with Joel McHale as this year’s host.
