ESPY Awards 2019: Nominees, Presenters, Host, Predictions and More
July 9, 2019The 2019 ESPY Awards are back and there's plenty of star power scheduled to light up Los Angeles.
The 27th annual event, which will be broadcast live from Microsoft Theater, will be hosted by comedian Tracy Morgan and feature the world's best athletes and entertainers.
While The Last O.G. actor peppers the crowd with jokes, awards will be presented in categories such as best male and female athletes, best team, best upset and breakthrough athlete.
Then there's the best record-breaking performance and, of course, a fan favorite, best viral sports moment.
Not surprisingly, this year's ESPYs will be star-studded, with celebrities like Dave Bautista, Usher, Elle Fanning, Christina Hendricks, Joel McHale, Billie Jean King, Chris Long and Kumani Nanjiani scheduled to present athletes with awards for their breathtaking achievements.
Bill Russell will receive the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage and will be honored by a performance of "In Times Like These" from Grammy Award-winner Tori Kelly.
The ESPYs will air live July 10 on ABC from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET.
ESPY Nominations:
Best NBA Player
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
James Harden, Houston Rockets
Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
Paul George, OKC Thunder
Best WNBA Player
Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm
Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury
Elena Delle Donne, Washington Mystics
Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks
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 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 Breakthrough Athlete
Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers
Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks
Naomi Osaka – US Open, Australian Open
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
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 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
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
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
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 Team
Boston Red Sox, MLB
Clemson Tigers, NCAA football
New England Patriots, NFL
Toronto Raptors, NBA
Baylor Bears, NCAA women's basketball
Virginia Cavaliers, NCAA men's basketball
U.S. women's national team, soccer
Best Play
Miami Miracle: Miami Dolphins Stun the New England Patriots
Kawhi Leonard Drains Game-Winner at Buzzer in Game 7
Derrick Henry's NFL-record 99-yard run vs. Jaguars
Wayne Rooney Just Single-Handedly Won A Match For D.C. United
UCLA gymnast Katelyn Ohashi scores a perfect 10
Andrew Benintendi calls game
Damian Lillard Sends OKC Home On Buzzer Beater
Manchester QB Brendon Clar throws this ball to Kevin Henderson for the 48 yard TD catch
Texas Tech WR makes one-handed grab that mirrors OBJs best catch
Kinsley Washington singled home Jacqui Prober to win the Bruins' 12th softball title
Julie Ertz gives the USWNT the lead early in the second half
Texas A&M's Infinite Tucker goes ALL OUT for the gold
Arike Ogunbowale Behind the Back Pass
Kihei Clark, Mamadi Diakite Save Virginia at the buzzer
Wilmington Charter's Taylor Gillis with CATCH OF THE YEAR!
"Hail Mary" pass helps Texas high school football team win state title
Best Viral Sports Moment
Rudolph "Blaze" Ingram, the 7-year-old running phenom is already faster than you
Texas A&M's Infinite Tucker goes ALL OUT for the gold
Katelyn Ohashi, UCLA Gymnastics – scores a perfect 10
Don't Sleep on Sister Mary Jo's curveball
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 WWE Moment
Roman Reigns returns to WWE Raw, announces his Leukemia is in remission
Becky Lynch wins both WWE Women's Championship Titles at Wrestlemania 35
Kofi Kingston wins his first WWE Heavyweight Championship Title at Wrestlemania 35
Ronda Rousey defeats Alexa Bliss at Summerslam 2018 to win her first RAW Women's Championship Title
Jimmy V Award for Perseverance Recipient: Rob Mendez.
St. Joe’s Basketball Coach/Best Coach Award Recipient: Jim Calhoun
Pat Tillman Award For Service Recipient: Kirstie Ennis
Arthur Ashe Award for Courage Recipient: Bill Russell
Predictions:
The Jimmy V and Arthur Ashe Awards are always a high point on the night, as well as the Pat Tillman Award.
This year, the list of nominees in almost every ESPY category is filled with great athletes and iconic sports moments.
While Giannis Antetokounmpo had a career year that ended with an MVP nod and led the Milwaukee Bucks to the best record in the NBA, Patrick Mahomes had an electric season as the quarterback of the future for the Kansas City Chiefs and will likely win the Best Male Athlete award.
The Seattle Storm's Breanna Stewart had a great season, but Simone Biles became the most decorated woman in gymnastics this year and will likely win the Best Female Athlete award.
For the Best Breakthrough Athlete award, New York Giants' rookie running back Saquon Barkley hurdled the competition out of the backfield, but he was a highly-touted player coming out of college.
Naomi Osaka made a name for herself by beating childhood hero Serena Williams in the U.S. Open. She's the likely winner of the award.
For the Best Record-Breaking Performance award, Drew Brees and Klay Thompson truly broke the record books, but Matthew Boling came out of nowhere and took the track world by storm with his 100-meter dash performance. With Usain Bolt retired, he could be the future star that Track & Field is looking for.
They just won but the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team should win the Best Team award for their dominance on the world stage.
There were too many Best Play moments to count, but the one that stands out is Kawhi Leonard’s game-winning, series-clinching buzzer-beater to eliminate the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7. The Toronto Raptors went on to beat the highly-favored Golden State Warriors for their first-ever NBA championship, so that moment should win.
Follow Maurice Bobb on Twitter, @ReeseReport