The best of the best in sports were celebrated during the ceremony for the 2012 ESPY Awards hosted by Rob Riggle and held at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California on Wednesday (July 11).

Brittney Griner Punches Jordan Barncastle (VIDEO)

LeBron James was the big winner of the night with three trophies for Best Male Athlete, Best NBA Player and Best Championship Performance. Basketball star Brittney Griner was given the Best Female Of the Year award (pictured above), while NY Knicks star Jeremy Lin took home the Best Breakthrough Athlete title.

2012 ESPY Awards Winners List:

Best Male Athlete:
Novak Djokovic, Tennis
LeBron James, NBA Winner
Aaron Rodgers, NFL
Justin Verlander, MLB

Best Female Athlete:
Brittney Griner, Baylor Basketball Winner
Maria Sharapova, Tennis
Lindsey Vonn, Alpine Skier
Abby Wambach, Soccer

Best Championship Performance:
David Freese, World Series
LeBron James, NBA Playoffs Winner
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
Jeremy Lin, New York Knicks Winner
Alex Morgan, Soccer

Best Record-Breaking Performance:
Drew Brees, Passing Yards Record Winner
Coach K, Wins Milestone
Mariano Rivera, Saves Milestone
Lexi Thompson, Youngest Winner

Best Upset:
Iowa State over Oklahoma State, NCAA Football
L.A. Kings, Stanley Cup win Winner
Lehigh over Duke, NCAA Tournament
Norfolk State over Missouri, NCAA Tournament

Best Game:
Missouri at Kansas, College Basketball
Rangers – Cardinals, World Series Game 6
49ers vs. Saints, NFL Playoffs Winner

Best Moment:
Derek Jeter, 3,000th Hit
Tebow to Thomas, Sudden Death TD Winner
Bubba Watson, Masters Win
MLB Season Ends, Drama On Final Night

Best Coach/Manager:
John Calipari, Kentucky Basketball
Tom Coughlin, NY Giants Winner
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
Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions Winner

Best International Athlete:
Novak Djokovic, Tennis
Lionel Messi, Soccer Winner
Cristiano Ronaldo, Soccer
Yani Tseng, Golfer

Best NFL Player:
Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers Winner
Terrell Suggs, Baltimore Ravens

Best MLB Player:
Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers Winner
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
Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings Winner
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning

Best Driver:
Dario Franchitti, IndyCar
Tony Stewart, NASCAR Winner
Sebastian Vettel, F1
Del Worsham, NHRA

Best NBA Player:
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
LeBron James, Miami Heat Winner
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
Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury Winner

Best Fighter:
Jon ‘Bones’ Jones, MMA
Floyd Mayweather Jr., Boxing Winner
Anderson Silva, MMA
Andre Ward, Boxing

Best Male Golfer:
Luke Donald
Bill Haas
Rory McIlroy
Webb Simpson
Bubba Watson Winner

Best Female Golfer:
Cristie Kerr Winner
Yani Tseng
So Yeon Ryu

Best Male Tennis Player:
Novak Djokovic Winner
Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal

Best Female Tennis Player:
Victoria Azarenka
Petra Kvitova
Maria Sharapova Winner
Samantha Stosur

Best Male College Athlete:
Jack Connolly, Minnesota-Duluth Hockey
Anthony Davis, Kentucky Basketball
Robert Griffin III, Baylor Football Winner
Andrew Luck, Stanford Football
Mike Zunino, Florida Baseball

Best Female College Athlete:
Brittney Griner, Baylor Basketball Winner
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
Shaun White Winner

Best Female Action Sports Athlete:
Jamie Anderson Winner
Kelly Clark
Carissa Moore
Kaya Turski

Best Jockey:
Javier Castellano
Ramon Dominguez
Mario Gutierrez Winner
John Velazquez

Best Male Athlete with a Disability:
Baxter Humby
Raymond Martin
Kyle Maynard Winner
Oz Sanchez
Tyler Walker

Best Female Athlete with a Disability:
Jessica Long Winner
Chelsea McClammer
Tatyana McFadden
Alana Nichols
Melissa Stockwell

Best Bowler:
Jason Belmonte
Mike Fagan
Sean Rash Winner

Best MLS Player:
David Beckham, Los Angeles Galaxy Winner
Brad Davis, Houston Dynamo
Dwayne De Rosario, DC United
Chris Wondolowski, San Jose Earthquakes

Best Track & Field Athlete:
Walter Dix Winner
Carmelita Jeter
Jason Richardson
Christian Taylor

Best Team of the Year:
Alabama football
Baylor women’s basketball
Kentucky men’s basketball
Los Angeles Kings
Miami Heat Winner
New York Giants
St. Louis Cardinals

[image: wenn.com]