MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The nominees for the 2022 ESPYS awards were announced Tuesday, and Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant found himself among the contenders for two awards for the first time in his already extraordinary career.
Morant was nominated for the "Best Breakthrough Athlete" category alongside U.S. Women's Soccer star Trinity Rodman, skier Eileen Gu and Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor.
He was also nominated for the "Best Play" category for his poster dunk against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs.
The full list of nominees can be found here.
The ESPYS are ESPN's yearly sports awards show, handing out superlatives in every major men's and women's sport.
Though he was nominated for two awards, Morant was left off the ballot for "Best NBA Player," which saw Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets, Joel Embiid from the Philadelphia 76ers, Luka Dončić with the Dallas Mavericks, and Stephen Curry from the Golden State Warriors all nominated.
ESPN also announced the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage will be presented to Ukrainian Vitali Klitschko, the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance will be presented to Dick Vitale, and The Pat Tillman Award for Service will be presented to Gretchen Evans this year.
The 2022 ESPYS will be live right here on ABC24 July 20 at 7 p.m. from Los Angeles, and fan voting for each award is open until Sunday, July 17.
