The 2018 ESPYS | Everything Viewers Need to Know

Published on 5/23/18 by Craig Smith

Image courtesy ESPN

Disney-owned ESPN will soon be holding their annual ESPYS award ceremony this month. Here is a rundown of everything viewers can expect to see…

What are the ESPYS?

An annual awards show put on by ESPN that gives top celebrities from sports and entertainment to commemorate the past year in sports by recognizing major sports achievements, reliving unforgettable moments, and saluting the leading performers and performances.

When and Where are the ESPYS?

The 2018 ESPYS will be broadcast live on ABC on Wednesday, July 18, at 8 p.m. ET from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Pre-show coverage will begin at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and continue on ESPN starting at 6 p.m. ET.

Who is Hosting the ESPYS?

It was announced back in May that race car driver Danica Patrick will Host the 2018 ESPYS award show.

Special Awards:

ESPN will be awarding the following special ESPYS during the ceremony:

Arthur Ashe Award for Courage presented to representatives for the ‘sister survivors’who spoke out against sexual abuse by their former team doctor.
Jimmy V Award for Perseverance presented to Jim Kelly.
Pat Tillman Award for Service presented to Jake Wood.
Best Coach Award presented posthumously to Aaron Feis, Scott Beigel, and Chris Hixon.

2018 ESPYs Nominees:

Fans can vote for their favorite nominees, listed below, at ESPYS.com up until the start of the show.

BEST MALE ATHLETE

Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
James Harden, Houston Rockets
Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Tom Brady, New England Patriots

BEST FEMALE ATHLETE

Sylvia Fowles, Minnesota Lynx
Chloe Kim, Snowboard
Julie Ertz, Chicago Red Stars/United States Women’s National Soccer Team

BEST OLYMPIC MOMENT

Shaun White, Snowboard
Jessie Diggins & Kikkan Randall, U.S. Cross Country Ski
U.S. Men’s Curling
USA Women’s Hockey defeats Canada, 2018 Winter Olympics

BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE

George Springer, Houston Astros – MLB World Series
Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles – Super Bowl LII
Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors – NBA Finals
Donte DiVincenzo, Villanova Men’s Basketball – CBB National Championship

BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE

Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints
Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz
Sloane Stephens, Tennis

BEST GAME

Houston Astros defeat Los Angeles Dodgers, World Series Game 5
Georgia Bulldogs defeat Oklahoma Sooners, Rose Bowl
USA Women’s Hockey defeats Canada, 2018 Winter Olympics

BEST MOMENT

Minnesota Vikings defeat the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship Game
Las Vegas Golden Knights defeat Winnipeg Jets to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals
#16 University of Maryland-Baltimore County upsets No. 1 Virginia

BEST TEAM

Houston Astros, MLB
Philadelphia Eagles, NFL
USA Women’s Ice Hockey
Notre Dame Fighting Irish, NCAA Women’s Basketball
Villanova Wildcats, NCAA Men’s Basketball
Golden State Warriors, NBA
Washington Capitals, NHL

BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE

Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma Football
Jalen Brunson, Villanova Basketball
Katie Ledecky, Stanford Swimming
A’ja Wilson, South Carolina Basketball

BEST PLAY (Bracket-style voting)

ND’s Arike Ogunbowale hits 2nd buzzer beater to win NCAA women’s national title
Minnesota Miracle: Stefon Diggs makes last-second TD Catch to send Vikings to NFC championship
Philly Special: Eagles fool Patriots with fourth-down TD toss to Foles
Alabama wins national title on 41-yard OT TD pass from Tua Tagovailoa to Devonta Smith
FSU’s Jessie Warren makes diving double play in WCWS
LeBron James nails buzzer beater 3-pointer to beat the Pacers in Game 5 of Round 1
Evanston Township High school freshman Blake Peters hits 80-foot buzzer beater
Gareth Bale scores go-ahead bicycle kick goal in Champions League Final 1022
Cristiano Ronaldo scores bicycle kick goal against Juventus
Julian McGarvey makes last-second steal & heave to secure Ardsley High School’s 1st Section 1 title in 60 years
LeBron floats a glass-kissing buzzer beater to beat Raptors in game 3 of round 2
Team USA’s Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson scores the shootout winner to secure gold medal in women’s hockey
Giannis Antetokounmpo leapfrog dunks on Tim Hardaway Jr
Acrobatic volleyball play from Autumn Finney out of Decatur High School
Golden Knights’ William Karlsson goes through legs for ‘goal of the year’ contender
Jordan Poole hits buzzer-beater to send Michigan to the Sweet 16

BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE

Roger Federer, Tennis
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury

BEST INTERNATIONAL MEN’S SOCCER PLAYER

Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona/Argentina National Team
Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid/Portuguese National Team
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool/Egyptian National Team
Neymar Jr., PSG/Brazilian National Team

BEST INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S SOCCER PLAYER

Lieke Martens, FC Barcelona/Netherlands National Team
Sam Kerr, Chicago Red Stars/Australian National Team
Pernille Harder, VfL Wolfsburg/Danish National Team
Jodie Taylor, Seattle Reign/English National Team

BEST NFL PLAYER

Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams
Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers
Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams

BEST MLB PLAYER

Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
Mike Trout, LA Angels
Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals

BEST NHL PLAYER

Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Marc-Andre Fleury, Las Vegas Golden Knights

BEST DRIVER

Josef Newgarden, IndyCar
Martin Truex Jr, NASCAR
Lewis Hamilton, Formula One
Brittany Force, NHRA

BEST NBA PLAYER

James Harden, Houston Rockets
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

BEST WNBA PLAYER

Maya Moore, Minnesota Lynx
Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks
Sylvia Fowles, Minnesota Lynx
Skylar Diggins-Smith, Dallas Wings

BEST FIGHTER

Terence Crawford, Boxing
Vasiliy (Vasyl) Lomachenko, Boxing
Rose Namajunas, UFC
Georges St-Pierre, UFC

BEST MALE GOLFER

Jordan Spieth
Justin Thomas
Dustin Johnson
Patrick Reed

BEST FEMALE GOLFER

Shanshan Feng
Inbee Park
Ariya Jutanugarn
Sung-Hyun Park

BEST MALE OLYMPIAN

Shaun White, Snowboarding
Red Gerard, Snowboarding
David Wise, Halfpipe Skiing
John Shuster, Curling

BEST FEMALE OLYMPIAN

Chloe Kim, Snowboarding
Mikaela Shiffrin, Skiing
Jamie Anderson, Snowboarding
Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, US Women’s Hockey

BEST MALE TENNIS PLAYER

Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal
Marin Cilic

BEST FEMALE TENNIS PLAYER

Sloane Stephens
Caroline Wozniacki
Simona Halep
Garbine Muguruza

BEST MALE ACTION SPORTS ATHLETE

Henrik Harlaut (SWE), Ski
Kelvin Hoefler (BRA), Skateboard
David Wise (USA), Ski
Marcus Kleveland (NOR), Snowboard

BEST FEMALE ACTION SPORTS ATHLETE

Chloe Kim (USA), Snowboard
Jamie Anderson (USA), Snowboard
Brighton Zeuner (USA), Skateboard
Stephanie Gilmore (AUS). Surf

BEST JOCKEY

Mike Smith
Jose Ortiz
Florent Geroux
Flavien Prat

BEST MALE ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY

Dan Cnossen, Nordic Skiing
Andrew Kurka, Alpine Skiing
Declan Farmer, Sled Hockey
Mike Schultz, Snowboarding

BEST FEMALE ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY

Oksana Masters, Nordic Skiing
Brenna Huckaby, Snowboarding
Kendall Gretsch, Nordic Skiing
Tatyana McFadden, Track and Field

BEST BOWLER

Jason Belmonte
Rhino Page
Tom Smallwood
Jesper Svensson

BEST MLS PLAYER

Nemanja Nikolić, Chicago Fire
Diego Valeri, Portland Timbers
Ike Opara, Sporting Kansas City
Tim Melia, Sporting Kansas City

BEST NWSL PLAYER

Sam Kerr, Chicago Red Stars
Megan Rapinoe, Seattle Reign
Sam Mewis
Adrianna Franch, Portland Thorns

2018 ESPYs Winners:

Best Breakthrough Athlete: Donovan Mitchell.
Best College Athlete: Baker Mayfield
Best Female Athlete: Chloe Kim.
Best Male Athlete: Alex Ovechkin
Best Team: Houston Astros
Best Game: U.S. women’s national hockey team’s shootout victory over Canada in the gold medal game of the Pyeongchang Olympics
Best Championship Performance: Nick Foles
Best Moment: The Minnesota Vikings’ miracle win in their divisional round game against the New Orleans Saints
Best Olympic Moment: Shaun White’s gold medal-winning final run
Best Play: Arike Ogunbowale’s buzzer-beater to win the national championship for Notre Dame.
Best Record-Breaking Performance: Roger Federer, winning an 8th Wimbledon title in 2017 and won the 2018 Australian Open for his 20th Grand Slam title.
Best International Men’s Soccer Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best International Women’s Soccer Player: Sam Kerr
Best NFL Player: Tom Brady
Best MLB Player: Mike Trout
Best NHL Player: Alex Ovechkin
Best Driver: Martin Truex Jr.
Best NBA Player: LeBron James
Best WNBA Player: Maya Moore
Best Fighter: Terence Crawford
Best Male Golfer: Jordan Spieth
Best Female Golfer: Sung-Hyun Park
Best Male Olympian: Shaun White
Best Female Olympian: Chloe Kim
Best Male Tennis Player: Roger Federer
Best Female Tennis Player: Sloane Stephens
Best Male Action Sports Athlete: David Wise
Best Female Action Sports Athlete: Chloe Kim
Best Jockey: Jose Ortiz
Best Male Athlete with a Disability: Mike Schultz
Best Female Athlete with a Disability: Brenna Huckaby
Best Bowler: Rhino Page
Best MLS Player: Nemanja Nikolic
Best NWSL Player: Megan Rapinoe
Capital One Cup: Stanford Cardinal sports
Jimmy V Award for Perseverance: Jim Kelly
Pat Tillman Award for Service: Sgt. Jake Wood of the U.S. Marines
Best Coach: Aaron Feis, Scott Beigel and Chris Hixon, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Arthur Ashe Award for Courage: The “sister survivors” who spoke out against the sexual abuses of the former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State doctor Larry Nassar.