Best Breakthrough Athlete ESPY Award

Last updated

Best Breakthrough Athlete ESPY Award
Awarded forbest national or international breakthrough in the world of individual and team sports
Location Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles (2023)
Presented by ESPN
First awarded1993
Currently held by Angel Reese (USA)
Website www.espn.co.uk/espys/

The Best Breakthrough Athlete ESPY Award, known alternatively as the Breakthrough Athlete of the Year ESPY Award, [1] is an annual award honoring the achievements of an individual in the world of sports. [2] It was first awarded as part of the ESPY Awards in 1993. [2] The Best Breakthrough Athlete ESPY Award trophy, created by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan, [3] is awarded to the sportsperson adjudged to have made the greatest breakthrough in a major international individual sport or North American professional team sport. The award is typically given to a sportsperson in his or her rookie season at a given level but may be won by any athlete who in a given year improves his or her performance dramatically or otherwise becomes well-recognized. [2] Since 2004, the winner has been chosen by online voting through choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee. [4] Before that, determination of the winners was made by an panel of experts. [5] 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] [6]

Contents

The inaugural winner of the Best Breakthrough Athlete ESPY Award in 1993 was San Diego Pardres outfielder Gary Sheffield. [1] [7] The Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hideo Nomo of Japan received the trophy in 1996, [8] and is one of two sports persons born outside of the United States to have received the award, the other being Dominican Republican left fielder and second baseman Alfonso Soriano of the New York Yankees in 2003. Additionally, 2022 winner Eileen Gu was born in America, but competed for China. [9] Gu is one of two women to win the award, the other being Mo'ne Davis of the Little League Baseball team Anderson Monarchs in 2015. [10] American football players have been most successful at the awards with eleven victories and thirteen nominations, followed by baseball players with eight wins and ten nominations. No athlete has ever won the accolade more than once. The award was not awarded in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Winners and nominees

Best Breakthrough Athlete ESPY Award winners and nominees
YearImageAthleteNationalityTeamCompetitionSportNomineesRefs
1993 Gary Sheffield2.jpg Gary Sheffield Flag of the United States.svg  USA San Diego Padres Major League Baseball Baseball Fred Couples (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Golf
Jim Courier (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Tennis
Barry Foster (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Pittsburgh Steelers
[1] [7]
1994 Mike Piazza HOF Press Conference.jpg Mike Piazza Flag of the United States.svg  USA Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball Baseball [11]
1995 Jeff Bagwell 2009 (cropped).jpg Jeff Bagwell Flag of the United States.svg  USA Houston Astros Major League Baseball Baseball Ernie Els (Flag of South Africa.svg  RSA) – Golf
Tommy Moe (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Skiing
[12] [13]
1996 Ye Mao Ying Xiong 20110216.jpg Hideo Nomo Flag of Japan.svg  JPN Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball Baseball Jeff Blake (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) –Cincinnati Bengals
Martin Brodeur (Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN) – New Jersey Devils
[8] [14]
1997 Tiger Woods in 2009.jpg Tiger Woods Flag of the United States.svg  USA PGA Tour Golf Mariano Rivera (Flag of Panama.svg  PAN) – New York Yankees
Alex Rodriguez (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Seattle Mariners
[15] [16]
1998 Nomar Garciaparra IMG 9542 (4308826992).jpg Nomar Garciaparra Flag of the United States.svg  USA Boston Red Sox Major League Baseball Baseball [17]
1999 Randy Moss.jpg Randy Moss Flag of the United States.svg  USA Minnesota Vikings National Football League American football [18]
2000 Kurt Warner 2004-10-07 (cropped).jpg Kurt Warner Flag of the United States.svg  USA St. Louis Rams National Football League American football Sergio García (Flag of Spain.svg  SPA) – Golf
Serena Williams (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Tennis
[19] [20]
2001 Daunte Culpepper Flag of the United States.svg  USA Minnesota Vikings National Football League American football Rulon Gardner (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Wrestling
Josh Heupel (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Oklahoma Sooners
Marat Safin (Flag of Russia.svg  RUS) – Tennis
[21] [22]
2002 Tom Brady 2011 (cropped).JPG Tom Brady Flag of the United States.svg  USA New England Patriots National Football League American football Kevin Harvick (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – NASCAR
Sarah Hughes (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Figure skating
Ichiro Suzuki (Flag of Japan.svg  JPN) – Seattle Mariners
[23] [24]
2003 Soriano3.jpg Alfonso Soriano Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  DOM New York Yankees Major League Baseball Baseball LeBron James (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Cleveland Cavaliers
Jimmie Johnson (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – NASCAR
Yao Ming (Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  CHN) – Houston Rockets
Clinton Portis (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Denver Broncos
[9] [25]
2004 LebronFT (cropped).jpg LeBron James Flag of the United States.svg  USA Cleveland Cavaliers National Basketball Association Basketball Freddy Adu (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Soccer
Carmelo Anthony (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Denver Nuggets
Jake Delhomme (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Carolina Panthers
Michelle Wie (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Golf
[26] [27]
2005 Dwyane Wade portrait.jpg Dwyane Wade Flag of the United States.svg  USA Miami Heat National Basketball Association Basketball Danica Patrick (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – IndyCar Series
Ben Roethlisberger (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Pittsburgh Steelers
Maria Sharapova (Flag of Russia.svg  RUS) – Tennis
[28] [29]
2006 Chris Paul new orleans (cropped).jpg Chris Paul Flag of the United States.svg  USA New Orleans Hornets National Basketball Association Basketball Kimmie Meissner (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Figure skating
Alexander Ovechkin (Flag of Russia.svg  RUS) – Washington Capitals
Shaun White (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Snowboarding
[30] [31]
2007 Devin Hester (cropped).jpg Devin Hester Flag of the United States.svg  USA Chicago Bears National Football League American football Kevin Durant (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Texas Longhorns
Ryan Howard (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Philadelphia Phillies
Morgan Pressel (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Golf
[32] [33]
2008 Adrian Peterson (cropped).jpg Adrian Peterson Flag of the United States.svg  USA Minnesota Vikings National Football League American football Kyle Busch (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – NASCAR
Stephen Curry (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Davidson Wildcats
Ana Ivanovic (Flag of Serbia.svg  SER) – Tennis
[34] [35]
2009 Matt Ryan 2015.jpg Matt Ryan Flag of the United States.svg  USA Atlanta Falcons National Football League American football Shawn Johnson (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Gymnastics
Evan Longoria (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Tampa Bay Rays
Derrick Rose (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Chicago Bulls
[36] [37]
2010 Chris Johnson sitting on his helmet.jpg Chris Johnson Flag of the United States.svg  USA Tennessee Titans National Football League American football Brittney Griner (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Baylor Bears
Stephen Strasburg (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Washington Nationals
John Wall (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Kentucky Wildcats
[38] [39]
2011 Blake Griffin Los Angeles Clippers.jpg Blake Griffin Flag of the United States.svg  USA Los Angeles Clippers National Basketball Association Basketball José Bautista (Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  DOM) – Toronto Blue Jays
Arian Foster (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Houston Texans
Li Na (Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  CHN) – Tennis
Cam Newton (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Auburn Tigers
[40] [41]
2012 Jeremy Lin with the Knicks and reporters (cropped).jpg Jeremy Lin Flag of the United States.svg  USA New York Knicks National Basketball Association Basketball Anthony Davis (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Kentucky Wildcats
Robert Griffin III (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Baylor Bears
Rob Gronkowski (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – New England Patriots
Alex Morgan (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Soccer
[42] [43]
2013 Colin Kaepernick - San Francisco vs Green Bay 2012.jpg Colin Kaepernick Flag of the United States.svg  USA San Francisco 49ers National Football League American football Johnny Manziel (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Texas A&M Aggies
Yasiel Puig (Flag of Cuba.svg  CUB) – Los Angeles Dodgers
Mike Trout (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Los Angeles Angels
Russell Wilson (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Seattle Seahawks
[44] [45]
2014 Richard Sherman 2015.jpg Richard Sherman Flag of the United States.svg  USA Seattle Seahawks National Football League American football Nick Foles (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Philadelphia Eagles
Damian Lillard (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Portland Trail Blazers
Masahiro Tanaka (Flag of Japan.svg  JPN) – New York Yankees
[46] [47]
2015 Mo'ne Davis (cropped).jpg Mo'ne Davis Flag of the United States.svg  USA Anderson Monarchs Little League Baseball Baseball Odell Beckham Jr. (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – New York Giants
Cardale Jones (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Ohio State Buckeyes
Jordan Spieth (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Golf
[10] [48]
2016 Jake Arrieta Phillies.jpg Jake Arrieta Flag of the United States.svg  USA Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball Baseball Karl-Anthony Towns (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Minnesota Timberwolves
Chloe Kim (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Snowboarding
Conor McGregor (Flag of Ireland.svg  IRL) – MMA
[49] [50]
2017 Dak Prescott vs Redskins 2017 (3).jpg Dak Prescott Flag of the United States.svg  USA Dallas Cowboys National Football League American football Giannis Antetokounmpo (Flag of Greece.svg  GRE) – Milwaukee Bucks
Laurie Hernandez (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Gymnastics
Aaron Judge (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – New York Yankees
Christian Pulisic (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Soccer
[51] [52]
2018 Donovan Mitchell Utah 2018 (cropped).jpg Donovan Mitchell Flag of the United States.svg  USA Utah Jazz National Basketball Association Basketball Alvin Kamara (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – New Orleans Saints
Ben Simmons (Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS) – Philadelphia 76ers
Sloane Stephens (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Tennis
[53] [54]
2019 Saquon Barkley Giants 2018.jpg Saquon Barkley Flag of the United States.svg  USA New York Giants National Football League American football Naomi Osaka (Flag of Japan.svg  JPN) – Tennis
Christian Yelich (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Milwaukee Brewers
Trae Young (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Atlanta Hawks
[55]
2020 Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 LaMelo Ball Illawarra Hawks (2) (cropped).jpg LaMelo Ball Flag of the United States.svg  USA Charlotte Hornets National Basketball Association Basketball Justin Herbert (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Los Angeles Chargers
Chase Young (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Washington Football Team
Crystal Dangerfield (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Minnesota Lynx
[56]
2022 2020-01-18 Eileen Gu at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics - Women's Freeski Slopestyle - Mascot Ceremony (Martin Rulsch) 18 (cropped).jpg Eileen Gu Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  CHN Skiing Ja Morant (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Memphis Grizzlies
Trinity Rodman (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) Washington Spirit
Jonathan Taylor (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) Indianapolis Colts
[57]
2023 F20230526ES-0294.jpg Angel Reese Flag of the United States.svg  USA LSU Women's Basketball NCAA Division I Basketball Caitlin Clark (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) – Iowa Women's Basketball
Brock Purdy (Flag of the United States.svg  USA) San Francisco 49ers
Julio Rodríguez (Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  DOM) Seattle Mariners
[58]

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. [6]

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