Nominees Announced for The 2023 ESPYS Presented by Capital One

ESPN has announced the nominees for The 2023 ESPYS presented by Capital One with fan voting now open.

What’s Happening:

ESPN announced the nominees for The 2023 ESPYS presented by Capital One.
Fan voting is now underway and all categories will close at 8pm ET on Sunday, July 9, 2023.
You can cast your vote by clicking here.

The 2023 ESPYS Nominees:

BEST ATHLETE, MEN’S SPORTS

BEST ATHLETE, WOMEN’S SPORTS

BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE

BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE

Novak Djokovic wins his 23rd Grand Slam title, defeating Casper Ruud in the French Open final. Breaking a tie with rival Rafael Nadal for the most major singles trophies in the history of men’s tennis, which dates to the 1800s
LeBron James surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for NBA career scoring record
Mikaela Shiffrin breaks the record for the most World Cup victories with her 87th win
Max Verstappen wins the Mexican Grand Prix, breaking the record for most wins in a season

BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE

Leon Edwards, UFC – defeats Kamaru Usman by 5th-round KO to win UFC welterweight title, handing Usman his first UFC loss
Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets – 2023 NBA Finals MVP
Lionel Messi, Argentina – 2022 World Cup Final – scored 2 goals and scored in the penalty shootout to win Man of the Match and he won the Golden Ball as FIFA’s best player of the tournament
Rose Zhang, LPGA – defeated Jennifer Kupcho in a two-hole sudden death playoff, making history by winning by becoming the first woman in 72 years to win her first professional

BEST COMEBACK ATHLETE

Jon Jones, UFC – Jones’ first fight in the UFC since 2020. He was last seen in action against Dominick Reyes, where he defended his light-heavyweight championship at UFC 247. While Jon Jones was plotting a move to the heavyweight division, he and the UFC president did not see eye-to-eye over fighter pay. Jones felt that he needed to be paid more for a move up to the heavyweight division, which resulted in him delaying his return.
Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets – Murray missed the entirety of last season due to a torn ACL in his left knee. He suffered the injury in a game against the Golden State Warriors on April 12, 2021, and didn’t play in the 18 months since then.
Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut Sun – 2022 WNBA Comeback Player of the Year. Thomas missed all but six games last season while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. The eight-year veteran has started all 36 of Connecticut’s games in 2022, and was an All- Star earlier this season. She leads the team in assists (6.1), steals (1.7) and minutes played (32.1).
Justin Verlander, Current New York Mets / Houston Astros – 2022 NL Comeback Player of the Year, after being limited to only six innings in 2020 and missing the entire ’21 season due to Tommy John surgery, the Astros’ ace returned this season to go 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA — the lowest by any AL pitcher since Pedro Martinez posted a 1.74 ERA in 2000.

BEST PLAY

BEST TEAM

BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE, MEN’S SPORTS

BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE, WOMEN’S SPORTS

BEST ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY

BEST NFL PLAYER

BEST MLB PLAYER

BEST NHL PLAYER

BEST NBA PLAYER

BEST WNBA PLAYER

BEST DRIVER

BEST UFC FIGHTER

BEST BOXER

BEST SOCCER PLAYER

BEST GOLFER

BEST TENNIS PLAYER