Top sports athletes will ditch their gear for dress clothes as the 2023 ESPYs will be held next month.
The 31st annual award show will be broadcast on ABC and take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 12 at 8 p.m. ET. No host has been announced for the award show yet.
The ESPYs, abbreviated for the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly, utilizes fan votes to honor the top athletes and sports performances of the previous year. ESPN announced the nominees on Wednesday with Nikola Jokić, Patrick Mahomes, A’ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese among the top nominees.The ESPYs will also continue to hand out the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, and The Pat Tillman Award for Service, honoring inspiring and courageous athletes. Recipients for those awards will be announced next week. This years show marks 30 years since Jimmy Valvano’s famous ESPYs speech.
Here are the nominees for the 2023 ESPY Awards. Fans can vote here for the awards until July 9 at 8 p.m. ET: Novak Djokovic: Won 2023 French Open for his 23rd Grand Slam title, breaking a tie with Rafael Nadal for the most major singles championship in men’s tennis.
LeBron James: Surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for NBA career scoring record.
Mikaela Shiffrin: Breaking the record for the most World Cup victories with 87.
Max Verstappen: Breaking the record for most wins in a season with a win at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Best championship performance
Leon Edwards: Won the UFC welterweight title at UFC 286, defeating Kamaru Usman.
Nikola Jokić: The 2023 NBA Finals MVP for the Denver Nuggets.
Lionel Messi: Scored two goals and scored in the penalty shootout of the 2022 World Cup final, winning Man of the Match as Argentina captured the title. Also won the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament.
Rose Zhang: Won the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open, becoming the first woman since Beverly Hanson in 1951 to win in their LPGA in her pro debut.
Best comeback athlete
Jon Jones: Won the UFC heavyweight championship at UFC 285 on March 4 in his first fight since 2020.
Jamal Murray: After missing the 2021-22 season due to a torn ACL, returned for the 2022-23 season and played a key role in the Nuggets winning the NBA title.
Alyssa Thomas: The Connecticut Sun forward won the 2022 WNBA Comeback Player of the Year after suffering a torn Achilles tendon in 2021.
Justin Verlander: Won the 2022 AL Cy Young and AL Comeback Player of the Year and after playing in only six innings in 2020 and missing the 2021 season due to Tommy John surgery. Was instrumental in the Houston Astros winning the 2022 World Series.
Best play
Michael Block: Hole-in-one at the 2023 PGA Championship.
Justin Jefferson: His remarkable catch vs. the Buffalo Bills.
Ally Lemos: Perfect corner kick leading to a score and tying the NCAA women’s soccer national championship game.
Trinity Thomas: Her 28th perfect 10 tied the all-time NCAA record.
