ESPY Awards 2012 Winners: Lebron James Takes 3 Trophies [FULL LIST]
The 2012 ESPY Awards celebrated its 20th annual edition Wednesday night with big wins for NBA star, Lebron James. The young player earned three trophies but was not able to be at the ESPY ceremony.
James, who was in Las Vegas preparing for the London Olympics, took home one of the top honors--Best Male Athlete. The star also shared the victory of Best Team for the Miami Heat for which he helped bring the NBA Championship.
The fan-voted 2012 ESPY Awards enjoyed a star studded night with top players dressed to impress. Scattered in the audience were athletes including Jeremy Lin, Tim Tebow, and MLB star, Josh Hamilton.
The award show, which is short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award, seeks to acknowledge individual and team achievements in sports.
Here is a list of the 2012 ESPY Award Winners and Nominees
BEST MALE ATHLETE
Novak Djokovic, Tennis
LeBron James, NBA/Miami Heat - WINNER
Aaron Rodgers, NFL/Green Bay Packers
Justin Verlander, MLB/Detroit Tigers
BEST FEMALE ATHLETE
Brittney Griner, NCAA/Baylor women's basketball - WINNER
Maria Sharapova, Tennis
Lindsey Vonn, Skiing
Abby Wambach, USA women's soccer
BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE
David Freese, World Series MVP
LeBron James, NBA Finals MVP - WINNER
Eli Manning, Super Bowl MVP
Tony Stewart, NASCAR Sprint Cup champion
Jonathan Quick, NHL Conn Smythe Trophy winner
BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE
Anthony Davis, University of Kentucky basketball
Robert Griffin III, Baylor football
Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
Jeremy Lin, New York Knicks - WINNER
Alex Morgan, USA women's soccer
BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE
Drew Brees breaks Dan Marino's single-season record for passing yards - WINNER
Coach Mike Krzyzewski passes Bob Knight
Mariano Rivera breaks the saves record
Lexi Thompson becomes youngest LPGA winner
BEST UPSET
Iowa State over Oklahoma State in football
L.A. Kings win Stanley Cup as 8-seed -WINNER
Lehigh over Duke (15 over 2), NCAA tournament
Norfolk State over Missouri (15 over 2), NCAA tournament
BEST GAME
Missouri at Kansas college basketball
Niners-Saints, NFC playoff game - WINNER
Rangers-Cardinals, World Series Game 6
BEST MOMENT
Derek Jeter's 3,000th hit
Tim Tebow to Demaryius Thomas, sudden-death playoffs - WINNER
Bubba Watson wins Masters in playoff
Final night of the 2011 MLB season
BEST COMEBACK
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Johan Santana, New York Mets
Maria Sharapova, Tennis
Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions - WINNER
BEST COACH/MANAGER
John Calipari, Kentucky basketball
Tom Coughlin, New York Giants - WINNER
Kim Mulkey, Baylor women's basketball
Patrick Murphy, Alabama softball
Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat
Darryl Sutter, LA Kings
BEST NFL PLAYER
Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers - WINNER
Terrell Suggs, Baltimore Ravens
BEST MLB PLAYER
Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers - WINNER
Matt Kemp, LA Dodgers
Clayton Kershaw, LA Dodgers
Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
BEST NHL PLAYER
Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers
Henrik Lundqvist, NY Rangers
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
Jonathan Quick, LA Kings - WINNER
BEST DRIVER
Dario Franchitti, IndyCar
Tony Stewart, NASCAR - WINNER
Sebastian Vettel, Formula 1
Del Worsham, NHRA
BEST NBA PLAYER
Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
LeBron James, Miami Heat - WINNER
Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves
Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs
Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics
BEST WNBA PLAYER
Seimone Augustus, Minnesota Lynx
Tamika Catchings, Indiana Fever
Tina Charles, Connecticut Sun
Angel McCoughtry, Atlanta Dream
Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury - WINNER
BEST FIGHTER
Jon "Bones" Jones, MMA
Floyd Mayweather Jr., Boxing - WINNER
Anderson Silva, MMA
Andre Ward, Boxing
BEST MALE GOLFER
Luke Donald
Bill Haas
Rory McIlroy
Webb Simpson
Bubba Watson- WINNER
BEST FEMALE GOLFER
Cristie Kerr - WINNER
Yani Tseng
So Yeon Ryu
BEST MALE TENNIS PLAYER
Novak Djokovic - WINNER
Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal
BEST FEMALE TENNIS PLAYER
Victoria Azarenka
Petra Kvitova
Maria Sharapova - WINNER
Samantha Stosur
BEST MALE COLLEGE ATHLETE
Jack Connolly, Minnesota-Duluth hockey
Anthony Davis, Kentucky basketball
Robert Griffin III, Baylor football - WINNER
Andrew Luck, Stanford football
Mike Zunino, Florida baseball
BEST FEMALE COLLEGE ATHLETE
Brittney Griner, Baylor basketball - WINNER
Alex Jupiter, USC volleyball
Caitlin Leverenz, University of California swimming/diving
Teresa Noyola, Stanford soccer
Jackie Traina, Alabama softball
BEST MALE ACTION SPORT ATHLETE
Travis Rice, Snowboarding
Kelly Slater, Surfing
Ryan Villopoto, Motocross/Supercross
Shaun White, Snowboarding/Skateboarding- WINNER
BEST FEMALE ACTION SPORT ATHLETE
Jamie Anderson, Skiing - WINNER
Kelly Clark, Snowboarding
Carissa Moore, Surfing
Kaya Turski, Skiing
BEST JOCKEY
Javier Castellano
Ramon Dominguez
Mario Gutierrez - WINNER
John Velazquez
BEST MALE ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY
Baxter Humby, Kickboxing
Ray Martin, Track & field
Kyle Maynard, Climbing - WINNER
Oz Sanchez, Cycling
Tyler Walker, Alpine Skiing
BEST FEMALE ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY
Jessica Long, Swimming - WINNER
Chelsea McClammer, Track & Field
Tatyana McFadden, Track & Field
Alana Nichols, Alpine Skiing
Melissa Stockwell, Paratriathlon
BEST BOWLER
Jason Belmonte
Mike Fagan
Sean Rash - WINNER
BEST MLS PLAYER
David Beckham, Los Angeles Galaxy- WINNER
Brad Davis, Houston Dynamo
Dwayne De Rosario, DC United
Chris Wondolowski, San Jose Earthquakes
BEST TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETE
Walter Dix - WINNER
Carmelita Jeter
Jason Richardson
Christian Taylor
BEST INTERNATIONAL ATHLETE
Novak Djokovic, tennis
Lionel Messi, soccer - WINNER
Cristiano Ronaldo, soccer
Yani Tseng, golf
BEST TEAM
Alabama football
Baylor women's basketball
Kentucky men's basketball
Los Angeles Kings
Miami Heat - WINNER
New York Giants
St. Louis Cardinals
