ESPY Award nominees 2022: Complete list of players, teams for all of the ESPYS voting categories

Kyle Irving

ESPY Award nominees 2022: Complete list of players, teams for all of the ESPYS voting categories image

The 2022 ESPYS are upon us.

The annual awards show will recap the entire year of sports, celebrating everything from the best teams, players, moments and plays from the 2021-22 seasons.

This year's ESPYS will be hosted by four-time NBA champion Stephen Curry. It will also have special guest presentations from other star athletes like Odell Beckham Jr., Mookie Betts, Aaron Rodgers, Derek Jeter and Megan Rapinoe, to name a few.

The ESPYS will honor a number of different teams and individuals across multiple sports, with each category having four nominees for each award.

Below you can find the complete list of nominees for each award at the 2022 ESPYS, along with information on how to watch the awards show.

ESPY Award nominees 2022

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 Pena, UFC 269
  • Max Verstappen, F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
  • Cale Makar, Colorado Avalance – 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

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 Mane, Liverpool
  • Kylian Mbappe, 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
  • TJ 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, Phoenix Mercury
  • Candace Parker, Chicago Sky

Best boxer

  • Tyson Fury
  • Shakur Stevenson
  • Katie Taylor
  • Mikaela Mayor

Best MMA fighter

  • Alexander Volkanovski
  • Charles Oliviera
  • 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 Swiatek
  • Leylah Fernandez

Best athlete, men's action sports

  • Eli Tomac, Supercross
  • Alex Hall, Ski
  • Yuto Horigome, Skateboard
  • Ayuma 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
  • Jesus 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 four 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 Universal and WWE Championship
  • Cody Rhodes returns to WWE at WrestleMania

Match 5

  • Big E cashes in Money In The Bank briefcase and wins WWE Championship
  • 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 Lesner returns at SummerSlam to confront Roman Reigns
  • Stone Cold returns to ring to defeat Kevin Owens at WrestleMania

When is the 2022 ESPY Awards show?

  • Date: Wednesday, July 20
  • Time: 8 p.m. ET
  • Where: The Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles

The ESPYS will be held at The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 20. The show is expected to run from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET.

How to watch the 2022 ESPY Awards show

  • Channel: ABC
  • Live stream: ESPN app | FuboTV

The ESPYS will be televised at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. You can live stream the ESPYS on the ESPN app or with FuboTV, which allows you to stream ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN and other top channels without cable (DVR included). No contract, cancel anytime.

Kyle Irving

Kyle Irving Photo

You read that wrong – not Kyrie Irving. From Boston, graduated from the University of New Hampshire. Sixth season as a content producer for NBA.com's Global editions. Covering the NBA Draft has become his annual "dream come true" moment on the job. Irving has a soft spot for pass-first point guards, with Rajon Rondo and Steve Nash being two of his favorite players of all time.