Best Game ESPY Award

The Best Game ESPY Award is an annual award honoring the achievements of a team who has performed the best play in the world of sports.[2] It was first awarded as part of the ESPY Awards in 2002.[3] The Best Game ESPY Award trophy, designed by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan,[4] is awarded to the team on the single regular season or playoff game contested professionally under the auspices of one of the four major North American leagues or collegiately under the auspices of the National Collegiate Athletic Association adjudged, in view of its quality, competitiveness, excitement, and significance, to be the best.[2] Since 2004, the winner has been chosen by online voting through choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee.[5] Before that, determination of the winners was made by an panel of experts.[6] Through the 2001 iteration of the ESPY Awards, ceremonies were conducted in February of each year to honor achievements over the previous calendar year; awards presented thereafter are conferred in July and reflect performance from the June previous.[3][lower-alpha 1]

Best Game ESPY Award
Awarded forbest professional or collegiate game
LocationMicrosoft Theater, Los Angeles (2017)[1]
Presented byESPN
First awarded2002
Currently held by2022 NFL AFC Divisional Game: Chiefs vs Bills
Websitewww.espn.com/espys/

The inaugural winner of the Best Game ESPY Award in 2002 was the seventh game of the 2001 World Series which decided that year's baseball title in favour of the expansion team Arizona Diamondbacks over the New York Yankees.[7][8] The following year's recipient of the accolade went to Ohio State University Buckeyes in their 2003 Fiesta Bowl victory over the University of Miami Hurricanes.[9] College football games have won the award three times and earned another two nominations after American football which has the most wins of any other sport with eight awards and six nominations while basketball and ice hockey games each have one victory each. The 2018 winner of the Best Game ESPY Award is the 2018 Winter Olympics women's ice hockey gold medal game in which the United States team won against Canada's squad in a 3–2 shootout victory to claim their first gold medal in women's ice hockey since the 1998 Winter Games.[10] The award wasn't awarded in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2023.

Winners and nominees
Best Game ESPY Award winners and nominees
Year Game/event Date League/governing body Sport Winners Losers Score Nominees Refs
2002 2001 World Series, game seven November 4, 2001 Major League Baseball Baseball Arizona Diamondbacks New York Yankees 3–2 Super Bowl XXXVI – New England Patriots vs. St. Louis Rams
Women's Olympic Figure Skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics		 [7][8][11]
2003 2003 Fiesta Bowl January 3, 2003 NCAA Division I-A College football Ohio State University Buckeyes University of Miami Hurricanes 31–24
(double overtime)		 2003 Australian Open – Men's singles: Andy Roddick vs. Younes El Aynaoui
2002 NFC wild card game – San Francisco 49ers vs. New York Giants
2002 World Series, game six – Anaheim Angels vs. San Francisco Giants		 [9][12][13]
2004 Super Bowl XXXVIII February 1, 2004 National Football League American football New England Patriots Carolina Panthers 32–29 2003 ALCS, game seven – New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox
2003 Little League World Series – Saugus vs. Richmond
2004 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament – Saint Joseph's vs. Oklahoma State		 [14][15][16]
2005 2004 American League Championship Series, game five October 18, 2004 Major League Baseball Baseball Boston Red Sox New York Yankees 5–4 2005 Rose Bowl – Michigan Wolverines vs. Texas Longhorns
2005 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament –Michigan vs. Kentucky		 [17][18][19]
2006 2006 Rose Bowl January 4, 2006 NCAA Division I-A College football University of Texas Longhorns University of Southern California Trojans 41–38 Houston Astros vs. Atlanta Braves – National League Division Series, game four
Andre Agassi vs. James Blake – 2005 US Open Quarter-Finals		 [20][21]
2007 2007 Fiesta Bowl January 1, 2007 NCAA Division I FBS College football Boise State University Broncos University of Oklahoma Sooners 43–42
(overtime)		 2007 AFC Championship Game – Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots
Oklahoma State vs. Texas triple overtime game		 [22][23][24]
2008 Super Bowl XLII February 3, 2008 National Football League American football New York Giants New England Patriots 17–14 2008 NBA Finals, game four – Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers
2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game		 [25][26][27]
2009 Super Bowl XLIII February 1, 2009 National Football League American football Pittsburgh Steelers Arizona Cardinals 27–23 Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal – 2008 Wimbledon men's singles final
2009 Connecticut vs. Syracuse men's basketball game		 [28][29][30]
2010 Winter Olympics men's hockey gold-medal game February 28, 2010 International Olympic Committee Ice hockey Canada United States 3–2
(overtime)		 2009 American League Central tie-breaker game – Detroit Tigers vs. Minnesota Twins
2010 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game – Duke Blue Devils vs. Butler Bulldogs		 [31][32][33]
2011 NFL Week 15 game December 19, 2010 National Football League American football Philadelphia Eagles New York Giants 38–31 2010 Iron Bowl – Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Auburn Tigers
Butler Bulldogs' upset against Pittsburgh Panthers
Oklahoma City edges Memphis in the NBA Playoffs		 [34][35]
2012 2012 NFC Divisional Playoffs January 14, 2012 National Football League American football San Francisco 49ers New Orleans Saints 36–32 2011 World Series, game six – St. Louis Cardinals vs. Texas Rangers
Kansas Jayhawks 87–86 Missouri Tigers		 [36][37]
2013 2013 NBA Finals, game six June 18, 2013 National Basketball Association Basketball Miami Heat San Antonio Spurs 103–100 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs – Boston Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs
Mile High Miracle – Baltimore Ravens vs. Denver Broncos		 [38][39][40]
2014 2013 Iron Bowl November 30, 2013 NCAA Division I FBS American football Auburn Tigers Alabama Crimson Tide 34–28 2014 Stanley Cup Finals, game five – New York Rangers vs. Los Angeles Kings
2014 AFC Wild Card Game – Indianapolis Colts vs. Kansas City Chiefs		 [41][42][43]
2015 Super Bowl XLIX February 1, 2015 National Football League American football New England Patriots Seattle Seahawks 28–24 2014 American League Wild Card Game – Oakland Athletics vs. Kansas City Royals
2015 NBA Western Conference Semifinals – San Antonio Spurs vs. Los Angeles Clippers		 [44][45][46]
2016 2016 NBA Finals, game seven June 19, 2016 National Basketball Association Basketball Cleveland Cavaliers Golden State Warriors 93–89 2015 NFL Playoffs – Arizona Cardinals vs. Green Bay Packers
2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament – Villanova Wildcats vs. North Carolina Tar Heels		 [47][48]
2017 Super Bowl LI February 5, 2017 National Football League American football New England Patriots Atlanta Falcons 34–28
(overtime)		 2016 World Series, game seven – Chicago Cubs vs. Cleveland Indians
2017 Australian Open – Men's singles final: Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal		 [49][50][51]
2018 2018 Winter Olympics women's ice hockey gold medal game February 23, 2018 International Olympic Committee Ice hockey United States women's national ice hockey team Canada women's national ice hockey team 3–2
(Shootout)		 2017 World Series, game five – Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
2018 Rose Bowl between the Georgia Bulldogs and Oklahoma Sooners		 [10][52][53]
2019 2018 Kansas City Chiefs–Los Angeles Rams game November 19, 2018 National Football League American Football Los Angeles Rams Kansas City Chiefs 54–51 2018 game between the Texas A&M Aggies and LSU Tigers and the 2019 Women's Final Four game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Connecticut Huskies.
2020 Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament April 3, 2021 NCAA College basketball Gonzaga UCLA 93–90
(overtime)		 2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament national championship game between Stanford and Arizona, the 2020 NFL game between the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns and Game 4 of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs between the Winnipeg Jets and the Edmonton Oilers.
2022 2022 NFL playoffs AFC Divisional Game January 23, 2022 National Football League American football Kansas City Chiefs Buffalo Bills 42–36
(overtime)		 2022 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament game between UConn and NC State, the 2022 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Kansas Jayhawks and the November 21, 2021 Iron Bowl game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers.
2023 Not awarded

See also

Notes and references

Notes
  1. Because of the rescheduling of the ESPY Awards ceremony, the award presented in 2002 was given in consideration of performance betwixt February 2001 and June 2002.[3]

References
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