Best Male Athlete ESPY Award

The Best Male Athlete ESPY Award, known alternatively as the Outstanding Male Athlete ESPY Award, is an annual award honoring the achievements of individual men from the world of sports. It has been presented annually at the ESPY Awards (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) since 1993 to the male voted irrespective of nationality or sport contested, adjudged to be the best athlete in a given calendar year.[1] The Best Male Athlete ESPY Award trophy, designed by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan,[2] is presented to the recipient at an annual ceremony in Los Angeles.[1] Since 2004, the winner has been chosen by online balloting through three to five choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee.[3] Before that, determination of the winners was made by an panel of experts.[4] 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.[lower-alpha 1][5]

Best Male Athlete ESPY Award
Awarded forBest male athlete
LocationLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Presented byESPN
First awarded1993
Currently held byPatrick Mahomes (U.S.)
Websiteespn.co.uk/espys

The inaugural winner of the Best Male Athlete ESPY Award was basketball player Michael Jordan in 1993.[6] Three American athletes, golfer Tiger Woods, road cyclist Lance Armstrong, and basketball player LeBron James, have won the award multiple times. Woods was honored five times: in 1998 (jointly with baseball player Ken Griffey Jr.), 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2008. Armstrong was honored four times from 2003 to 2006 inclusive while James received the trophy on three occasions in 2012, 2013 and 2016. Basketball is the most successful sport, its players having received a total of nine awards and thirty-two nominations since its inception, followed by Golf players with five wins and ten nominations. The award has been won by a non-American four times – in 2011 by German basketball player Dirk Nowitzki,[7] in 2018 by Russian hockey player Alex Ovechkin, in 2019 by Greek basketball player Giannis Antetokounmpo and in 2022 by Japanese baseball player Shohei Ohtani. All four were playing for American teams. It was not awarded in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8]

Winners and nominees
Winners and nominees of the Best Male Athlete ESPY Award
Year Image Athlete Nation Sport Nominees Ref(s)
1993 Michael Jordan  USA Basketball Dennis Eckersley ( USA) – Baseball
Mario Lemieux ( CAN) – Ice hockey
Emmitt Smith ( USA) – American football
Steve Young ( USA) – American football		 [6][9]
1994 Barry Bonds in 1993 Barry Bonds  USA Baseball Charles Barkley ( USA) – Basketball
Mario Lemieux ( CAN) – Ice hockey
Nigel Mansell ( GBR) – Motorsport
Charlie Ward ( USA) – College football		 [10][11][12]
1995 Steve Young in 1990 Steve Young  USA American football George Foreman ( USA) – Boxing
Hakeem Olajuwon ( USA) – Basketball
Barry Sanders ( USA) – American football		 [13][14]
1996 Cal Ripkin Jr. in 1996 Cal Ripken Jr.  USA Baseball Greg Maddux ( USA) – Baseball
Hakeem Olajuwon ( USA) – Basketball		 [15][16]
1997 Michael Johnson in 1995 Michael Johnson  USA Track and field Michael Jordan ( USA) – Basketball
Tiger Woods ( USA) – Golf		 [17][18]
1998 Tiger Woods in 1997 Tiger Woods  USA Golf Michael Jordan ( USA) – Basketball
Barry Sanders ( USA) – American football		 [19][20][21]
Ken Griffey Jr. in 1997 Ken Griffey Jr.  USA Baseball
1999 Mark McGwire in 1989 Mark McGwire  USA Baseball Terrell Davis ( USA) – American football
Jeff Gordon ( USA) – NASCAR
Michael Jordan ( USA) – Basketball
Sammy Sosa ( DOM) – Baseball		 [22][23]
2000 Tiger Woods in 2000 Tiger Woods (2)  USA Golf Tim Duncan ( USA) – Basketball
Pedro Martínez ( DOM) – Baseball		 [6][24]
2001 Tiger Woods in 2004 Tiger Woods (3)  USA Golf Lance Armstrong  USA) – Road cycling
Shaquille O'Neal ( USA) – Basketball		 [6][25]
2002 Tiger Woods in 2007 Tiger Woods (4)  USA Golf Lance Armstrong ( USA) – Road cycling
Barry Bonds ( USA) – Baseball
Shaquille O'Neal ( USA) – Basketball
Cael Sanderson ( USA) – Collegiate wrestling		 [6][26]
2003 Lance Armstrong in 2003 Lance Armstrong  USA Road cycling Barry Bonds ( USA) – Baseball
Tim Duncan ( USA) – Basketball
Tiger Woods ( USA) – Golf		 [27][28]
2004 Lance Armstrong in 2004 Lance Armstrong (2)  USA Road cycling Barry Bonds ( USA) – Baseball
Tom Brady ( USA) – American football
Kevin Garnett ( USA) – Basketball
Peyton Manning ( USA) – American football		 [27][29]
2005 Lance Armstrong in 2005 Lance Armstrong (3)  USA Road cycling Peyton Manning ( USA) – American football
Bode Miller ( USA) – Skiing
Michael Phelps ( USA) – Swimming
Vijay Singh ( FIJ) – Golf		 [27][30]
2006 Lance Armstrong in 2008 Lance Armstrong (4)  USA Road cycling Shaun Alexander ( USA) – American football
LeBron James ( USA) – Basketball
Albert Pujols ( DOM) – Baseball
Vince Young ( USA) – College football		 [27][31]
2007 LaDainian Tomlinson in 2008 LaDainian Tomlinson  USA American football Roger Federer (  SUI) – Tennis
LeBron James ( USA) – Basketball
Peyton Manning ( USA) – American football
Tiger Woods ( USA) – Golf		 [32]
2008 Tiger Woods in 2008 Tiger Woods (5)  USA Golf Tom Brady ( USA) – American football
Kobe Bryant ( USA) – Basketball
Alex Rodriguez ( USA) – Baseball		 [33][34]
2009 Michael Phelps in 2009 Michael Phelps  USA Swimming Kobe Bryant ( USA) – Basketball
LeBron James ( USA) – Basketball
Jimmie Johnson ( USA) – NASCAR		 [35]
2010 Drew Brees in 2010 Drew Brees  USA American football Kobe Bryant ( USA) – Basketball
LeBron James ( USA) – Basketball
Jimmie Johnson ( USA) – NASCAR
Albert Pujols ( DOM) – Baseball		 [36][37]
2011 Dirk Nowitzki in 2009 Dirk Nowitzki  DEU Basketball Jimmie Johnson ( USA) – NASCAR
Rafael Nadal ( ESP) – Tennis
Aaron Rodgers ( USA) – American football		 [38][7]
2012 LeBron James in 2012 LeBron James  USA Basketball Novak Djokovic ( SER) – Tennis
Aaron Rodgers ( USA) – American football
Justin Verlander ( USA) – Baseball		 [39][40]
2013 LeBron James in 2013 LeBron James (2)  USA Basketball Miguel Cabrera ( VEN) – Baseball
Adrian Peterson ( USA) – American football
Michael Phelps ( USA) – Swimming		 [41]
2014 Kevin Durant in 2014 Kevin Durant  USA Basketball Miguel Cabrera ( VEN) – Baseball
Peyton Manning ( USA) – American football
Floyd Mayweather Jr. ( USA) – Boxing		 [42][43]
2015 Stephen Curry in 2016 Stephen Curry  USA Basketball LeBron James ( USA) – Basketball
Aaron Rodgers ( USA) – American football
J. J. Watt ( USA) – American football		 [44]
2016 LeBron James in 2014 LeBron James (3)  USA Basketball Stephen Curry ( USA) – Basketball
Bryce Harper ( USA) – Baseball
Cam Newton ( USA) – American football		 [45][46]
2017 Russell Westbrook in 2015 Russell Westbrook  USA Basketball Kris Bryant ( USA) – Baseball
Sidney Crosby ( CAN) – Ice hockey
Michael Phelps ( USA) – Swimming		 [47][48]
2018 Alexander Ovechkin  RUS Ice hockey José Altuve ( VEN) – Baseball
Tom Brady ( USA) – American football
James Harden ( USA) – Basketball		 [49][50]
2019 Giannis Antetokounmpo  GRE Basketball Mookie Betts ( USA) – Baseball
Brooks Koepka ( USA) – Golf
Patrick Mahomes ( USA) – American football		 [51][52]
2020 Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic [8]
2021 Tom Brady  USA American football Lewis Hamilton ( GBR) – Formula One
Nikola Jokić ( SER) – Basketball
Connor McDavid ( CAN) – Ice hockey		 [53][54]
2022 Shohei Ohtani  JPN Baseball Stephen Curry ( USA) – Basketball
Connor McDavid ( CAN) – Ice hockey
Aaron Rodgers ( USA) – American football		 [55][56]
2023 Patrick Mahomes  USA American football Nikola Jokić ( SER) – Basketball
Aaron Judge ( USA) – Baseball
Lionel Messi ( ARG) – Soccer		 [57]

Statistics

See also

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.[5]

References
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  2. Avard, Christian (August 2, 2013). "Sculptor commissioned to complete Joe Frazier statue has died". Barre Montpelier Times Argus. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
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  6. Smart, Barry (August 24, 2005). The Sport Star: Modern Sport and the Cultural Economy of Sporting Celebrity. SAGE Publications Ltd. p. 190. ISBN 0-7619-4351-X. Archived from the original on October 31, 2017. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
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