LeBron James has won 15 individual ESPYs during his 20-year NBA career.
He’s been honored by ESPN as top male athlete three times, best NBA player eight times, top championship performance three times and breakthrough athlete once.
This year, he’s a first-time nominee in the category for best record-breaking performance, after passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer on Feb. 8. He scored 38 points during the Lakers’ 133-130 loss to Oklahoma City that night at Crypto.com Arena.
LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 29: LeBron James celebrates after becoming the all-time NBA scoring leader.
In the nominations announced Wednesday morning, James is up against Dutch-Belgian driver Max Verstappen, who set the record with 15 wins in a Formula One season; Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, who won his men’s record 23rd Grand Slam title at the French Open earlier this month; and U.S. skier Mikaela Shiffrin, whose 88 World Cup wins is the most ever in the sport.
USC’s Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams earned a nomination for top male college athlete and Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani is up for best MLB player. UCLA’s Ally Lemos received a nod for best play after serving a perfect corner to set up teammate Reilyn Turner’s game-tying goal with 30 seconds remaining in regulation of the Bruins’ win over North Carolina in the NCAA championship game.
NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, American League MVP Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, Super Bowl LVII MVP Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and World Cup, Golden Ball and Best FIFA Men’s Player award winner Lionel Messi of Argentina and Paris Saint-Germain are the nominees for best athlete in men’s sports.
Shiffrin is up for best athlete in women’s sports, along with Portland Thorns star and NWSL MVP Sophia Smith, U.S. Open and French Open tennis champion Iga Swiatek and WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces.
The winners will be announced July 12.