"The 2023 ESPYS" will broadcast on Wednesday, July 12, at 8 p.m. EDT/PDT on ABC from Los Angeles. Be sure to watch on the ABC app from your smartphone and tablet (iOS and Android), computer on ABC.com and connected devices (Roku, AppleTV and Amazon Fire TV). The star-studded ceremony will relive the highlight moments of the year, honor leading athletes and performances, and bring together the sports industry's fan favorites and biggest stars. A list of "The 2023 ESPYS" nominees is available here, and fans can cast their vote at ESPN.com/ESPYS. More information is available in the complete "The 2023 ESPYS" Media Kit.

"THE 2023 ESPYS" NOMINEE FACTS AND FIGURES

In Best Athlete, Women's Sports, three-time nominee Mikaela Shiffrin returns to face off against three newcomers in the category: A'ja Wilson, Sophia Smith and Iga Świątek. LeBron James enters the Best Record-Breaking Performance category for the first time after breaking the NBA all-time scoring record, where he is joined by F1's Max Verstappen, Novak Djokovic and Mikaela Shiffrin. Aaron Judge and Lionel Messi earn their first nomination for Best Athlete, Men's Sports. They join two-time nominees Nikola Jokíć and Patrick Mahomes. Making her sixth straight appearance in Best WNBA Player, Candace Parker joins back-to-back nominee Skylar Diggins-Smith. Rounding out the category is A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart. Nikola Jokić is the lowest-drafted player (41^st overall in the second round in 2014) to win the NBA Finals MVP, passing Dennis Johnson, who was drafted 29^th overall in 1979. Nikola earned three ESPY nominations this year to add to his previous three nominations. The complete list of 2023 nominees is below.

Top celebrities from sports and entertainment will gather to recognize nominees and honor winners in categories such as Best Athlete, Men's Sports; Best Athlete, Women's Sports; Best Breakthrough Athlete; Best Record-Breaking Performance; Best Championship Performance; and Best Comeback Athlete. Per tradition, "The 2023 ESPYS" will also showcase the achievements of inspiring and courageous athletes who embody the spirit of "The ESPYS" through three pillar awards: the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, and The Pat Tillman Award for Service presented by MassMutual. Recipients for all three awards will be announced next week. The show supports ESPN's ongoing commitment to The V Foundation for Cancer Research, launched in 1993 by ESPN in partnership with the late Jim Valvano.

2023 ESPYS NOMINATIONS

BEST ATHLETE, MEN'S SPORTS

Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets

Aaron Judge, New York Yankees

Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

Lionel Messi, Argentina

BEST ATHLETE, WOMEN'S SPORTS

Mikaela Shiffrin, Ski

Sophia Smith, Portland Thorns

Iga Świątek, Tennis

A'ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces

BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE

Caitlin Clark, Iowa Women's Basketball

Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers

Angel Reese, LSU Women's Basketball

Julio Rodríguez, Seattle Mariners

BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE

- Novak Djokovic wins his 23^rd Grand Slam title, defeating Casper Ruud in the French Open final, breaking a tie with rival Rafael Nadal for the most major singles trophies in the history of men's tennis, which dates to the 1800s

- LeBron James surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for NBA career scoring record

- Mikaela Shiffrin breaks the record for the most World Cup victories with her 87^th win

- Max Verstappen wins the Mexican Grand Prix, breaking the record for most wins in a season

BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE

- Leon Edwards, UFC, defeats Kamaru Usman by fifth-round KO to win UFC welterweight title, handing Usman his first UFC loss.

- Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets, 2023 NBA Finals MVP.

- Lionel Messi, Argentina, 2022 World Cup Final, scored two goals and scored in the penalty shootout to win Man of the Match, and he won the Golden Ball as FIFA's Best Player of the Tournament.

- Rose Zhang, LPGA, defeated Jennifer Kupcho in a two-hole sudden-death playoff, making history by winning by becoming the first woman in 72 years to win her first professional start.

BEST COMEBACK ATHLETE

- Jon Jones, UFC — Jones' first fight in the UFC since 2020. He was last seen in action against Dominick Reyes, where he defended his light-heavyweight championship at UFC 247. While Jon Jones was plotting a move to the heavyweight division, he and the UFC president did not see eye-to-eye over fighter pay. Jones felt that he needed to be paid more for a move up to the heavyweight division, which resulted in him delaying his return.

- Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets — Murray missed the entirety of last season due to a torn ACL in his left knee. He suffered the injury in a game against the Golden State Warriors on April 12, 2021, and didn't play in the 18 months since then.

- Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut Sun, 2022 WNBA Comeback Player of the Year — Thomas missed all but six games last season while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. The eight-year veteran started all 36 of Connecticut's games in 2022 and was an All-Star earlier this season. She leads the team in assists (6.1), steals (1.7) and minutes played (32.1).

- Justin Verlander, Current New York Mets / Houston Astros, 2022 NL Comeback Player of the Year — After being limited to only six innings in 2020 and missing the entire '21 season due to Tommy John surgery, the Astros' ace returned this season to go 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA, the lowest by any AL pitcher since Pedro Martinez posted a 1.74 ERA in 2000.

BEST PLAY

Michael Block with a Hole-in-One!, GOLF

Justin Jefferson with the Catch of the Century, NFL

Ally Lemos with the perfect corner to tie the National Championship game, NCAA

Trinity Thomas' Perfect 10 Tying the All-Time NCAA Record, NCAA

BEST TEAM

Denver Nuggets, NBA

Georgia Bulldogs, NCAA Football

Kansas City Chiefs, NFL

Las Vegas Aces, WNBA

Louisiana State Tigers, NCAA Women's Basketball

Oklahoma Sooners, NCAA Softball

Vegas Golden Knights, NHL

BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE, MEN'S SPORTS

Zach Edey, Purdue Men's Basketball

Duncan McGuire, Creighton Soccer

Brennan O'Neill, Duke Lacrosse

Caleb Williams, USC Football

BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE, WOMEN'S SPORTS

Jordy Bahl, Oklahoma Softball

Caitlin Clark, Iowa Women's Basketball

Izzy Scane, Northwestern Lacrosse

Trinity Thomas, Florida Gators Gymnastics

BEST ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY

Erica McKee, Sled Hockey Team

Zach Miller, Snowboarding

Aaron Pike, Wheelchair Racing and Cross-Country Skiing

Susannah Scaroni, Wheelchair Racing

BEST NFL PLAYER

Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers

Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles

Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings

Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

BEST MLB PLAYER

Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals

Aaron Judge, New York Yankees

Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels

Justin Verlander, Houston Astros

BEST NHL PLAYER

Jonathan Marchessault, Vegas Golden Knights

Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

David Pastrňák, Boston Bruins

Linus Ullmark, Boston Bruins

BEST NBA PLAYER

Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat

Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets

Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

BEST WNBA PLAYER

Skylar Diggins-Smith, Phoenix Mercury

Candace Parker, Chicago Sky (Current Las Vegas Aces)

Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm (Current New York Liberty)

A'ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces

BEST DRIVER

Brittany Force, NHRA

Kyle Larson, NASCAR

Josef Newgarden, IndyCar

Max Verstappen, F1

BEST UFC FIGHTER

Leon Edwards

Jon Jones

Islam Makhachev

Amanda Nunes

BEST BOXER

Gervonta Davis

Devin Haney

Claressa Shields

Shakur Stevenson

·

BEST SOCCER PLAYER

Aitana Bonmatí, Spain/Barcelona

Erling Haaland, Norway/Manchester City

Lionel Messi, Argentina/PSG

Sophia Smith, USWNT/Portland Thorns

BEST GOLFER

Wyndham Clark

Nelly Korda

Jon Rahm

Scottie Scheffler

BEST TENNIS PLAYER

Carlos Alcaraz

Novak Djokovic

Aryna Sabalenka

Iga Świątek