Honoring the best in sports over the past calendar year, the 2012 ESPY Awards took place at the Nokia Theatre at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles, California on Wednesday night (July 11).
Hosted by “21 Jump Street” star Rob Riggle, LeBron James emerged as the big winner of the night with three awards including Best NBA Player and Best Male Athlete trophies, as his team the Miami Heat took home Best Team accolades.
Tom Coughlin, who won his second Super Bowl in January, beating New England 21-17 took home Best Coach of the Year with Brittney Griner being named Best Female Athlete, and another big winner was Josh Hamilton as he won Best MLB Player.
Meanwhile, there was plenty of star power on hand, as celebrity presenters included Jessica Biel, Jeremy Renner, Kenny Chesney, Olivia Munn and Jordana Brewster.
Also including a performance from Nas, the complete list of winners from the 2012 ESPY Awards is as follows:
Best Male Athlete:
Novak Djokovic, Tennis
WINNER: LeBron James, NBA
Aaron Rodgers, NFL
Justin Verlander, MLB
Best Female Athlete:
WINNER: Brittney Griner, Baylor Basketball
Maria Sharapova, Tennis
Lindsey Vonn, Alpine Skier
Abby Wambach, Soccer
Best Championship Performance:
David Freese, World Series
WINNER: LeBron James , NBA Playoffs
Eli Manning, Super Bowl
Tony Stewart, Sprint Cup
Jonathan Quick, Stanley Cup
Best Breakthrough Athlete:
Anthony Davis, Kentucky Basketball
Robert Griffin III, Baylor Football
Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
WINNER: Jeremy Lin, New York Knicks
Alex Morgan, Soccer
Best Record-Breaking Performance:
WINNER: Drew Brees, Passing Yards Record
Coach K, Wins Milestone
Mariano Rivera, Saves Milestone
Lexi Thompson, Youngest Winner
Best Upset:
Iowa State over Oklahoma State, NCAA Football
WINNER: L.A. Kings, Stanley Cup win
Lehigh over Duke, NCAA Tournament
Norfolk State over Missouri, NCAA Tournament
Best Game:
Missouri at Kansas, College Basketball
Rangers – Cardinals, World Series Game 6
WINNER: 49ers vs. Saints, NFL Playoffs
Best Moment:
Derek Jeter, 3,000th Hit
WINNER: Tebow to Thomas, Sudden Death TD
Bubba Watson, Masters Win
MLB Season Ends, Drama On Final Night
Best Coach/Manager:
John Calipari, Kentucky Basketball
WINNER: Tom Coughlin, NY Giants
Kim Mulkey, Baylor Women’s Basketball
Patrick Murphy, Alabama Softball
Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat
Darryl Sutter, L.A. Kings
Best Comeback Athlete:
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Johan Santana, New York Mets
Maria Sharapova, Tennis
WINNER: Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions
Best International Athlete:
Novak Djokovic, Tennis
WINNER: Lionel Messi, Soccer
Cristiano Ronaldo, Soccer
Yani Tseng, Golfer
Best NFL Player:
Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions
WINNER: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
Terrell Suggs, Baltimore Ravens
Best MLB Player:
Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
WINNER: Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers
Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers
Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
Best NHL Player:
Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers
Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
WINNER: Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
Best Driver:
Dario Franchitti, IndyCar
WINNER: Tony Stewart, NASCAR
Sebastian Vettel, F1
Del Worsham, NHRA
Best NBA Player:
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
WINNER: LeBron James, Miami Heat
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
WINNER: Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury
Best Fighter:
Jon ‘Bones’ Jones, MMA
WINNER: Floyd Mayweather Jr., Boxing
Anderson Silva, MMA
Andre Ward, Boxing
Best Male Golfer:
Luke Donald
Bill Haas
Rory McIlroy
Webb Simpson
WINNER: Bubba Watson
Best Female Golfer:
WINNER: Cristie Kerr
Yani Tseng
So Yeon Ryu
Best Male Tennis Player:
WINNER: Novak Djokovic
Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal
Best Female Tennis Player:
Victoria Azarenka
Petra Kvitova
WINNER: Maria Sharapova
Samantha Stosur
Best Male College Athlete:
Jack Connolly, Minnesota-Duluth Hockey
Anthony Davis, Kentucky Basketball
WINNER: Robert Griffin III, Baylor Football
Andrew Luck, Stanford Football
Mike Zunino, Florida Baseball
Best Female College Athlete:
WINNER: Brittney Griner, Baylor Basketball
Alex Jupiter, USC Volleyball
Caitlin Leverenz, Cal Swimming
Teresa Noyola, Stanford Soccer
Jackie Traina, Alabama Softball
Best Male Action Sports Athlete:
Travis Rice
Kelly Slater
Ryan Villopoto
WINNER: Shaun White
Best Female Action Sports Athlete:
WINNER: Jamie Anderson
Kelly Clark
Carissa Moore
Kaya Turski
Best Jockey:
Javier Castellano
Ramon Dominguez
WINNER: Mario Gutierrez
John Velazquez
Best Male Athlete with a Disability:
Baxter Humby
Raymond Martin
WINNER: Kyle Maynard
Oz Sanchez
Tyler Walker
Best Female Athlete with a Disability:
WINNER: Jessica Long
Chelsea McClammer
Tatyana McFadden
Alana Nichols
Melissa Stockwell
Best Bowler:
Jason Belmonte
Mike Fagan
WINNER: Sean Rash
Best MLS Player:
WINNER: David Beckham, Los Angeles Galaxy
Brad Davis, Houston Dynamo
Dwayne De Rosario, DC United
Chris Wondolowski, San Jose Earthquakes
Best Track & Field Athlete:
WINNER: Walter Dix
Carmelita Jeter
Jason Richardson
Christian Taylor
Best Team of the Year:
Alabama football
Baylor women’s basketball
Kentucky men’s basketball
Los Angeles Kings
WINNER: Miami Heat
New York Giants
St. Louis Cardinals
Pictures from the 2012 ESPY Awards: PHOTO GALLERY
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