ESPY Awards 2019 nominees revealed: Simone Biles, Serena Williams, Kevin Durant and Mikaela Shiffrin all up for sports honors
- ABC will broadcast ESPN's ESPY Awards on July 10 from Los Angeles
- U.S. Women's soccer star Alex Morgan, Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, tennis star Serena Williams, and NBA star Kevin Durant are among the nominees
- With Danica Patrick serving as host, ESPY ratings were down dramatically in 2018 as the broadcast drew 3.9 million viewers compared to 5.3 million in 2017
- Comedian Tracy Morgan will host this year's broadcast
By Daily Mail Reporter
Published: 12:25 EDT, 19 June 2019 | Updated: 15:14 EDT, 19 June 2019
U.S. Women's soccer star Alex Morgan, gymnast Simone Biles, tennis star Serena Williams, and NBA star Kevin Durant are among the nominees for the 2019 ESPY Awards.
Biles and Morgan are competing with WNBA player Breanna Stewart and skier Mikaela Shiffrin for to become 'best female athlete,' while Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo vies for the 'best male athlete' award with golfer Brooks Koepka, Boston Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Morgan, who scored a record-breaking five goals against Thailand in America's World Cup opener last week, was already named the U.S. Soccer's Female Player of the Year for 2018.
Meanwhile Biles won five gold medals at the World Champions in Doha and Stewart was the FIBA Player of the Year and a WNBA All-Star in 2018.
Simone Biles won five gold medals at the World Champions in Doha in 2018. Previously in 2016 (pictured), she won team and all-around gold medals at the Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro
After getting married and giving birth in 2017, Serena Williams failed to win a singles title in 2018 for the first time in her professional career. Still, she did post an 18-6 singles record
Alex Morgan, who scored a record-breaking five goals against Thailand in America's World Cup opener last week, was already named the U.S. Soccer's Female Player of the Year for 2018
With former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick serving as host, ESPY ratings were down dramatically in 2018 as the broadcast drew 3.9 million viewers compared to 5.3 million in 2017. Comedian Tracy Morgan will host this year's broadcast on July 10.
'I hope my Uncle Sidney Poitier is there with my biological father Tony Dorsett and my second cousin Herschel Walker,' Morgan joked in an ESPN press release. 'And Bo Jackson I want my two dollars back.'
There are many other nominees for next month's awards show.
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley is up for 'best breakthrough athlete' with Atlanta Hawks rookie Trae Young, Milwaukee Brewers slugger Christian Yelich, and U.S. Open winner Naomi Osaka.
The 2018 Finals MVP, Kevin Durant, is a nominee for 'NBA Player of the Year'
Osaka is also nominated for 'best female tennis player' along with Serena Williams, whom she beat in Queens last summer to secure her first grand slam title - a match that is up for the 'best upset' ESPY award.
After getting married and giving birth in 2017, Williams failed to win a singles title in 2018 for the first time in her professional career. Still, she did post an 18-6 singles record on the year.
Antetokounmpo is also up for 'best NBA player' along with Houston Rockets guard James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George.
Durant, who recently ruptured his Achilles while playing for the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, had won Finals MVP in each of the last two seasons.
Stewart is up for the WNBA's award with Phoenix Mercury veteran Diana Taurasi, Washington Mystics center Elena Delle Donne and Los Angeles Sparks star Candace Parker.
And, after helping the Washington Capitols win their first Stanley Cup in 2018, veteran Alexander Ovechkin is up for 'Best NHL Player,' along with Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov and Edmonton's Connor McDavid.
Fans are encouraged to vote for the winners at ESPN.com.
In addition to being nominated for 'Female Athlete of the Year,' Naomi Osaka is also nominated for 'best female tennis player' along with Serena Williams, whom she beat in Queens last summer to secure her first grand slam title - a match that is up for the 'best upset' ESPY award
2019 ESPY AWARDS FINALISTS
BEST MALE ATHLETE
- Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
- Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
- Brooks Koepka, Golf
BEST FEMALE ATHLETE
- Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm
- Simone Biles, Gymnast
- Alex Morgan, USWNT
- Mikaela Shiffrin, US Skiing
BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE
- Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
- Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers
- Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks
- Naomi Osaka – US Open, Australian Open
BEST GAME
- NCAAF – LSU vs. Texas A&M: Aggies win seven-overtime 74-72 thriller in highest scoring game in FBS history
- NFL Week 11 – LA Rams (54) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (51) – Monday Night Football
- NCAAW Final Four – Notre Dame (81) vs. UConn (76) – 26 lead changes
BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE
- Kyler Murray, Oklahoma Football – 2018 Heisman Trophy Winner
- Zion Williamson, Duke MBB – 2019 Wooden Award Winner
- Rachel Garcia, UCLA Softball – USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year
- Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon WBB – 2019 Wooden Award Winner
The top pick in Thursday's NBA Draft, Zion Williams is up for 'Best College Athlete'
BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE
- Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) passed Peyton Manning’s 71,940 career passing yards to move into first place on the all-time list; most completions in NFL history, 6,300+ completions passes Brett Favre
- Sabrina Ionescu (Oregon Basketball) recorded her 13th triple-double. She now holds the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball record for triple doubles. She surpassed Kyle Collinsworth’s mark of 12 in four seasons at BYU. She also broke the Division I men’s and women’s record in a single season in the Ducks’ 96–78 win over Southern California (7) breaking former BYU guard Kyle Collinsworth
- Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors) broke the NBA 3-point record in a game with 14, passing Stephen Curry’s previous mark
- Matthew Boling became the first-ever high schooler to break 10 seconds in the 100-meter dash, dropping a 9.98
BEST UPSET
- NCAAF – Old Dominion defeats No. 13 Virginia Tech 49-35, Old Dominion only had a 1.8% chance of winning according to ESPN’s FPI, making it the largest upset by an FBS team in the 14 years of Football Power Index projections
- 2018 US Open – Naomi Osaka defeating Serena Williams
- NHL – Columbus Blue Jackets pulled off what many thought impossible, an upset for the ages after a 7-3 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on in Game 4 of their best-of-7 series.
- Boxing – Andy Ruiz Jr. upset win over Anthony Joshua
BEST INTERNATIONAL MEN’S SOCCER PLAYER
- Lionel Messi
- Cristiano Ronaldo
- Kylian Mbappe
- Virgil Van Dyke
BEST INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S SOCCER PLAYER
- Pernille Harder, Denmark
- Ada Hegerberg, Norway
- Sam Kerr, Australia
- Lucy Bronze, England
Patrick Mahomes is one of four nominees for 'Best NFL Player' at the upcoming ESPY Awards
BEST NFL PLAYER
- Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
- Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams
- Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams
- Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
BEST MLB PLAYER
- Mookie Betts, Red Sox
- Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers
- Jacob DeGrom, New York Mets
- Blake Snell, Tampa Bays Rays
BEST NHL PLAYER
- Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
- Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
- Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
- Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
BEST DRIVER
- Lewis Hamilton, F1
- Steve Torrence, NHRA
- Scott Dixon, Indy
- Kyle Busch, NASCAR
BEST NBA PLAYER
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
- James Harden, Houston Rockets
- Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
- Paul George, OKC Thunder
And, after helping the Washington Capitols win their first Stanley Cup in 2018, veteran Alexander Ovechkin is up for 'Best NHL Player'
BEST WNBA PLAYER
- Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm
- Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury
- Elena Delle Donne, Washington Mystics
- Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks
BEST BOXER
- Canelo Alvarez
- Vasily Lomachenko
- Oleksandr Usyk
- Terence Crawford
BEST MMA FIGHTER
- Israel Adesanya
- Daniel Cormier
- Henry Cejudo
- Amanda Nunes
BEST MALE GOLFER
- Brooks Koepka
- Tiger Woods
- Justin Rose
- Francesco Molinari
Already the highest-paid boxer, Canelo Alvarez is also up for the boxing ESPY award
BEST FEMALE GOLFER
- Ariya Jutanugarn
- Brooke Henderson
- Jin-Young Ko
- Sung Hyun Park
BEST MALE TENNIS PLAYER
- Novak Djokovic
- Rafael Nadal
- Roger Federer
- Stefanos Tsitsipas
BEST FEMALE TENNIS PLAYER
- Naomi Osaka
- Simona Halep
- Serena Williams
- Petra Kvitová
BEST MALE ACTION SPORTS ATHLETE
- Nyjah Huston (USA), skateboard
- Scotty James (AUS), snowboard
- Tom Pages (FRA), freestyle motocross
- Gabriel Medina (BRA), surf
BEST FEMALE ACTION SPORTS ATHLETE
- Kelly Sildaru (EST), ski
- Chloe Kim (USA), snowboard
- Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (NZL), snowboard
- Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), surf
BEST JOCKEY
- Irad Ortiz Jr.
- Mike Smith
- Florent Geroux
- Jose Ortiz
BEST MALE ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY
- Mark Barr – Triathalon
- Declan Farmer – Hockey
- Daniel Romanchuk – Marathon Racing
- Oz Sanchez – Cycling
BEST FEMALE ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY
- Oksana Masters, Nordic Skiing
- Tatyana McFadden, Marathon Racing
- Shawn Morelli, Cycling
- Allysa Seely, Triathalon
BEST BOWLER
- Jason Belmonte
- Norm Duke
- Anthony Simonsen
- Jakob Butturff
BEST MLS PLAYER
- Josef Martinez, Atlanta United
- Wayne Rooney, DC United
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic, LA Galaxy
- Aaron Long, NY Red Bulls
BEST NWSL PLAYER
- Lindsey Horan, Portland Thorns
- Adrianna Franch, Portland Thorns
- Sam Kerr, Chicago Red Stars
- Abby Erceg, North Carolina Courage
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ESPY Awards 2019 nominees revealed: Simone Biles, Serena Williams, all up for sports honors