The Best WNBA Player ESPY Award has been presented annually since 1998 to the Women's National Basketball Association player, irrespective of nationality, adjudged to be the best in a given year.

Between 1998 and 2004, the award voting panel comprised variously fans; sportswriters and broadcasters, sports executives, and retired sportspersons, termed collectively experts; and retired sportspersons, but balloting thereafter has been exclusively by fans over the Internet from amongst choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee.

Through the 2001 iteration of the ESPY Awards, ceremonies were conducted in February of each year to honor achievements over the previous calendar year, in the season immediately precedent to the holding of the ESPY Awards ceremony; awards presented thereafter are conferred in June and reflect performance from the June previous,^[1] or parts of two WNBA seasons.

List of winners[link]

Year	Player	Nationality	Position played	Team represented
1998	Cynthia Cooper	United States	Point guard	Houston Comets
1999	Cynthia Cooper (2)	United States	Point guard	Houston Comets
2000	Cynthia Cooper (3)	United States	Point guard	Houston Comets
2001	Sheryl Swoopes	United States	Small forward	Houston Comets
2002	Lisa Leslie	United States	Center	Los Angeles Sparks
2003	Lisa Leslie (2)	United States	Center	Los Angeles Sparks
2004	Lauren Jackson	Australia	Power forward	Seattle Storm
2005	Lauren Jackson (2)	Australia	Power forward	Seattle Storm
2006	Sheryl Swoopes (2)	United States	Small forward	Houston Comets
2007	Lisa Leslie (3)	United States	Center	Los Angeles Sparks
2008	Lauren Jackson (3)	Australia	Power forward	Seattle Storm
2009	Candace Parker	United States	Power forward	Los Angeles Sparks
2010	Diana Taurasi	United States	Shooting guard	Phoenix Mercury
2011	Diana Taurasi (2)	United States	Shooting guard	Phoenix Mercury

See also[link]

• Women's National Basketball Association awards
• Women's National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award
• Best NBA Player ESPY Award

Notes[link]

1. ^ Because of the rescheduling of the awards ceremony, the award presented in 2002 was given in consideration of performance betwixt February 2001 and June 2002.

References[link]

• Enumeration of past winners from HickokSports.com

An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade presented by the American cable television network ESPN to recognize individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony. The first ESPYs were awarded in 1993. Because of the ceremony's rescheduling prior to the 2002 iteration thereof, awards presented in 2002 were for achievement and performances during the seventeen-plus months previous. As the similarly-styled Grammy (for music), Emmy (for television), and Academy Award (for film), the ESPYs are hosted by a contemporary celebrity; the style, though, is more relaxed, light, and self-referential than that of many other awards shows, with comedic sketches usually included. The host for the 2011 ESPYS is Seth Meyers and the head writer is Jonathan Drubner.

From their inception to 2004, ESPY Award winners were chosen only through voting by fans. Since 2004, sportswriters, broadcasters, sports executives, and sportspersons, collectively experts; or ESPN personalities also vote. Award winners have been selected thereafter exclusively through online fan balloting conducted from amongst candidates selected by the ESPY Select Nominating Committee.

Charitable role[link]

A portion of the proceeds from sales of tickets to the event devolves on the V Foundation, a charity established by collegiate basketball coach and television commentator Jim Valvano to promote cancer research. Valvano announced the creation of the charitable foundation during his acceptance of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award during the inaugural ESPY telecast on March 3, 1993, fifty-five days before Valvano's death from metastatic adenocarcinoma.

Ceremonies[link]

Timing[link]

Between 1993 and 2001, the ceremony was held each year in either February or March and was broadcast recorded on ESPN.

Since 2002, the ceremony has been conducted on the Wednesday in July following the Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game; as none of the major North American professional leagues have games scheduled for that day—the National Basketball Association, National Football League, and National Hockey League are not in-season, and MLB does not contest games on the day following its all-star game—major sports figures are available to attend. The show is aired on the subsequent Sunday four days later, although the results are announced on ESPN.com and thereafter across media outlets immediately after taping is complete. For the first time since 2003 the ESPY Awards were televised live on ESPN, July 14, 2010.^[1]

Location[link]

The first seven editions of the ESPYs were held in New York City—in 1993 and 1994 at Madison Square Garden and from 1995 through 1999, at Radio City Music Hall. The awards relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada, for two years beginning in 2000, and ultimately settled at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. In 2006, it was announced that the awards would move in 2008 to the Nokia Theatre, to be situated as the West Coast headquarters of ESPN at LA Live, adjacent to the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

Hosts[link]

The ceremonies have been hosted variously by comedians, television and film actors, and sportspeople. American film actor Samuel L. Jackson is the only individual to have hosted four times (in 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2009); American comedian Dennis Miller, American film actor and singer Jamie Foxx and actor and comedian Seth Meyers are the only others to have hosted the awards ceremonies more than once.

Year-by-year[link]

Awards[link]

American professional golfer Tiger Woods is the most-honored ESPY recipient, having received 21 awards.

Extant[link]

Cross-cutter categories[link]

Cross-cutter awards are those the eligibility for which is not confined to those sportspersons participating in, or those events occurring in, any single or specific sport.

• Arthur Ashe for Courage Award, presented to the sports-related personage(s) or team, irrespective of gender or sport contested, adjudged to have made the most significant or compelling humanitarian contribution in transcendence of sports in a given year (presented since 1993)
• Best Female Athlete ESPY Award, presented to the female sportsperson, irrespective of nationality or sport contested, adjudged to be the most outstanding over a given year (1993)
• Best Male Athlete ESPY Award, presented to the male sportsperson, irrespective of nationality or sport contested, adjudged to be the most outstanding in a given year (1993)
• Best Breakthrough Athlete ESPY Award, presented to the sportsperson, irrespective of gender or sport contested, adjudged to have made the best or most significant breakthrough in his or her sport in a given year (1993)
• Best Championship Performance ESPY Award, presented to the sportsperson, irrespective of gender, nationality, or sport contested, adjudged to have made the best or most significant performance in a championship match, series, or tournament in his or her sport
• Best Coach/Manager ESPY Award, presented to the coach or manager, irrespective of nationality or sport contested, adjudged to be the most outstanding in a given year (1993)
• Best Female College Athlete ESPY Award, presented to the female sportsperson, irrespective of sport played, adjudged to be the best in the National Collegiate Athletic Association in a given year (2002^[2])
• Best Male College Athlete ESPY Award, presented to the male sportsperson, irrespective of sport played, adjudged to be the best in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, in a given year (2002^[2])
• Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award, presented to the sportsperson, irrespective of gender or sport contested, adjudged to have made the most significant or impressive comeback from illness, injury, hardship, retirement, or loss of form (1993)
• Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award, presented to the female sportsperson with a disability, irrespective of nationality or sport contested, adjudged to be the best in a given year (2005^[3])
• Best Male Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award, presented to the male sportsperson with a disability, irrespective of nationality or sport contested, adjudged to be the best in a given year (2005^[3])
• Best Game ESPY Award, presented to the single game in a North American professional or collegiate league, irrespective of sport, adjudged to be the best in a given year (2002)
• Best Upset ESPY Award, presented to the sportsperson or team, irrespective of gender or sport contested, adjudged to have completed the best, most impressive, or most significant upset in a given year (2004)
• Best Moment ESPY Award, presented to the moment or series of moments occurring in a sporting event or season, irrespective of sport contested or gender of participating sportsperson(s), adjudged to the most remarkable, compelling, or entertaining in a given year (2002)
• Best Play ESPY Award, presented to the single play or performance, irrespective of sport contested or gender of participating sportsperson, adjudged to be the most remarkable, significant, or impressive in a given year (2002)
• Best Record-Breaking Performance ESPY Award, presented to the record-breaking single-play, game or season performance, irrespective of sport contested or gender of participating sportsperson, adjudged to be the most remarkable, significant, or impressive in a given year (2001)
• Best Sports Movie ESPY Award, presented to the sports-related feature film adjudged to be the best in a given year (2002)
• Jimmy V ESPY Award for Perseverance (2007)
• Outstanding Team ESPY Award, presented to the collegiate, professional, or national team, irrespective of sport contested, adjudged to be the most outstanding in a given year (1993^[4])

Individual categories[link]

Individual awards are those for which eligibility is limited to those partaking of a single individual or team sport or specific sport category.

• Best Female Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award, presented to the female action sportsperson, irrespective of nationality or discipline contested, adjudged to be the best in a given year (presented since 2004^[5])
• Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award, presented to the male action sportsperson, irrespective of nationality or discipline contested, adjudged to be the best in a given year (2004^[5])
• Best Angler ESPY Award, presented to the angler, irrespective of gender, adjudged to be the best in a given year (2006)
• Best Bowler ESPY Award, presented to the ten-pin bowler, irrespective of gender, adjudged to be the best playing in the United States in a given year (1995)
• Best Driver ESPY Award, presented to the motorsports driver, irrespective of nationality, gender, or series or sort contested adjudged to be best in a given year (1993)
• Best Fighter ESPY Award, presented to the professional boxer, mixed martial arts fighter, international or collegiate wrestler irrespective of nationality or weight class, adjudged to be the best in a given year (2007^[6])
• Best Female Golfer ESPY Award, presented to the female professional golfer, irrespective of nationality, adjudged to be the best in a given year (1993—2004 inclusive, 2009–present^[7])
• Best Male Golfer ESPY Award, presented to the male professional golfer, irrespective of nationality, adjudged to be the best in a given year (1993—2004 inclusive, 2009–present^[7])
• Best Jockey ESPY Award, presented to the thoroughbred horse racing jockey, irrespective of nationality or gender, adjudged to be the best riding in the United States in a given year (1994)
• Best MLS Player ESPY Award, presented to the player adjudged to be the best in Major League Soccer in a given year (2006)
• Best Major League Baseball Player ESPY Award, presented to the player adjudged to be the best in Major League Baseball in a given year (1993)
• Best NBA Player ESPY Award, presented to the player adjudged to be the best in the National Basketball Association in a given year (1993)
• Best NFL Player ESPY Award, presented to the player adjudged to be the best in the National Football League in a given year (1993)
• Best NHL Player ESPY Award, presented to the player adjudged to be the best in the National Hockey League in a given year (1993)
• Best Female Tennis Player ESPY Award, presented to the female professional tennis player, irrespective of nationality, adjudged to be the best in a given year (1993)
• Best Male Tennis Player ESPY Award, presented to the male professional tennis player, irrespective of nationality, adjudged to be the best in a given year (1993)
• Best Track and Field Athlete ESPY Award, presented to the track and field athlete, irrespective of nationality or gender, adjudged to be the best in a given year (2007; not awarded in 2009)^[8]
• Best WNBA Player ESPY Award, presented to the player adjudged to be the best in the Women's National Basketball Association in a given year (1998)

Sponsored categories[link]

Sponsored awards are those otherwise constituted as cross-cutter awards the titles and eligibility criteria of which reflect corporate sponsorship.

• GMC Professional Grade Play ESPY Award, presented to the single play in a professional or collegiate North American sport adjudged to be the most impressive, remarkable, or notable in a given year, and to the sportsperson(s) involved therewith (presented since 2006)
• Under Armour Undeniable Performance ESPY Award, presented to the single performance in a game or series in a professional or collegiate North American sports league to be the most impressive or significant in a given year, and to the sportspersons involved therewith (2006)

Discontinued, irregular, or superseded[link]

Cross-cutter categories[link]

Cross-cutter awards are those the eligibility for which is not confined to those sportspersons participating in, or those events occurring in, any single or specific sport.

• Best International Athlete ESPY Award, presented to the sportsperson in a North American professional or collegiate league, irrespective of gender, born outside the United States adjudged to be the best in a given year (2006 through 2009)
• Best U.S. Olympic Athlete (presented in 2002 to Sarah Hughes^[9][10])
• Female USA Olympic Athlete (presented in 2001 to Marion Jones, 2005 to Team USA Softball, and 2009 to Shawn Johnson^[9][10][11])
• Male USA Olympic Athlete (presented in 2001 to Rulon Gardner and in 2005 and 2009 to Michael Phelps^[9][10][11])
• Come-from-behind Performance (presented in 2001 to Tiger Woods^[9][10])
• Game of the Year ESPY Award (presented between 1996 and 1998, inclusive, not to be confused with the Best Game ESPY Award)
• Dramatic Individual Performance of the Year ESPY Award (presented between 1997 and 1999, inclusive)
• Humanitarian of the Year (presented in 1999 to Sammy Sosa^[9][10])
• Lifetime Achievement Award (presented in 2001 to Jack Nicklaus^[9][10])
• Memorable Performance of the Year ESPY Award (presented between 2000 and 2001, inclusive)
• Most Spectacular Play (presented in 2001 to Antonio Freeman^[9][10])
• Outstanding Performance by an Athlete in Entertainment (presented between 1994 and 1996, inclusive, to Charles Barkley, John Kruk, George Seifert^[9][10])
• Outstanding Performance by a Sports Personality in a Commercial (presented in 1993 to Larry Johnson^[9][10])
• Outstanding Performance by a Sports Personality in an Attempt to Break into Show Business (presented in 1993 to Shaquille O'Neal^[9][10])
• Outstanding Performance Under Pressure ESPY Award (presented between 1993 and 1999, inclusive)
• Outrageous Play of the Year ESPY Award (presented between 1993 and 1998, inclusive)
• Showstopper of the Year ESPY Award (presented between 1993 and 1999, inclusive)

Individual categories[link]

Individual awards are those for which eligibility is limited to those partaking of a single individual or team sport or specific sport category.

• Best Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award, presented to the action sportsperson, irrespective of gender, nationality, or discipline contested, adjudged to be the best in a given year (presented between 2002 and 2003, inclusive^[5])
• Best Female College Basketball Player ESPY Award, presented to the female basketball player in the National Collegiate Athletic Association adjudged to be the best in a given year (1993–2001, inclusive^[2])
• Best Male College Basketball Player ESPY Award, presented to the male basketball player in the National Collegiate Athletic Association adjudged to be the best in a given year (1993–2001, inclusive^[2])
• Best College Football Player ESPY Award, presented to the American football player in the National Collegiate Athletic Association adjudged to be the best in a given year (1993–2001, inclusive^[2])
• Best Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award, presented to the sportsperson with a disability, irrespective of gender, nationality, or sport contested, adjudged to be the best in a given year (2002–2004, inclusive^[3])
• Best Boxer ESPY Award, presented to the boxer, irrespective of nationality or weight class, adjudged to be the best in a given year (1993–2006, inclusive^[6])
• Best Golfer ESPY Award, presented to the professional golfer, irrespective of nationality or gender, adjudged to be best in a given year (2005–2008 inclusive^[7])
• Best Female Soccer Player ESPY Award, presented to the female soccer (association football) player, irrespective of nationality, adjudged to be the best in a given year (2002–2004, inclusive^[12])
• Best Male Soccer Player ESPY Award, presented to the male soccer (association football) player, irrespective of nationality, adjudged to be the best in a given year (2002–2004, inclusive^[12])
• Best Soccer Player ESPY Award, presented to the soccer player, irrespective of gender or nationality, adjudged to be the best in a given year (2000^[12])
• Best Outdoor Sportsman ESPY Award, presented to the sportsperson, irrespective of gender or nationality, adjudged to be the best of those contesting outdoor recreational or nature-based individual sports in the United States and Canada in a given year (2002–2005, inclusive^[13])
• Best Female Track Athlete ESPY Award, presented to the female track and field athlete, irrespective of nationality, adjudged to be the best in a given year (1993–2006 inclusive; not awarded in 2005)^[8]
• Best Male Track Athlete ESPY Award, presented to the male track and field athlete, irrespective of nationality, adjudged to be the best in a given year (1993–2006 inclusive; not awarded in 2005)^[8]

Sponsored categories[link]

Sponsored awards are those otherwise constituted as cross-cutter awards the titles and eligibility criteria of which reflect corporate sponsorship.^{[original research?]}

Criticism[link]

I love John Walsh, and I have a fond feeling for ESPN. But I find the ESPY Awards objectionable. We already have awards. The World Series is an award. An MVP is an award. We don't need more awards. They make up this crap so they can fill time with it - the worst.

—Bill Wolff (ESPN producer) in the book Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the Secret World of ESPN (pg. 287)

Of all the award shows, the ESPYs have got to be the dumbest award show there is. First of all, award shows in general are sort of silly and ridiculous and we know they're just for creating publicity, but at least it makes some sort of sense within that framework to have an awards show for movies, or television, because there is no way with those to know which is the best. But when we're talking about sports - they actually play the game. We don't have to give an award to the best team. We know who the best team is - they've already won! That's the great thing about sports, there's a built-in objective mechanism by which we can ascertain who the winners are. But no, you have to win a second time in a tuxedo, and a spokesmodel has to hand you a trophy; that's what's important.

—Bill Maher (ESPYs presenter) in the book Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the Secret World of ESPN (pg. 322-323)

See also[link]

• Athlete of the Year
• Laureus World Sports Awards

References[link]

External links[link]

• Enumeration of past winners from the official site of the 2010 ESPY Awards
• History of the awards from HickokSports.com
• The 2010 ESPY Awards - slideshow by Life magazine
• ESPY Awards just another example of ESPN choosing self-promotion over showcasing athletes

Chamique Shaunta Holdsclaw (born August 9, 1977) is a professional basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) most recently under a contract with the San Antonio Silver Stars. She announced her retirement from the Los Angeles Sparks on June 11, 2007, though she eventually came out of retirement to play with the Atlanta Dream for the 2009 WNBA Season.

High school years[link]

Holdsclaw grew up playing basketball. While attending Christ The King Regional High School in Queens, New York, she played for the school's women's basketball team, and led them to four straight New York State Championships in basketball. Holdsclaw was named a High School All-American by the WBCA.^[1] She participated in the WBCA High School All-America Game in 1995, scoring eight points.^[2] She is Native American.^[3]

College years[link]

Holdsclaw went to the University of Tennessee from 1995 to 1999, where she played under coach Pat Summitt and helped to lead the Lady Vols to the women's NCAA's first ever three consecutive Women's Basketball Championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998. The 1998 championship was Tennessee's first ever undefeated season at 39–0 and also set an NCAA record for the most wins ever in a season. She also helped lead Tennessee to two SEC regular season titles in 1998 and 1999 and to three SEC tournament championships in 1996, 1998 and 1999.

At Tennessee, Holdsclaw was a four-time Kodak All-America, one of only six women's basketball players to earn the honor (along with teammate Tamika Catchings, Cheryl Miller of USC, Ann Meyers of UCLA, Lynette Woodard of Kansas and LaToya Thomas of Mississippi State.) Holdsclaw finished her career with 3,025 points and 1,295 rebounds, making her the all-time leading scoring and rebounder at Tennessee in men's or women's history, the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in SEC women's history, and the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in the NCAA tournament women's history with 470 points and 197 rebounds. She was also only the fifth women's basketball player in NCAA history to have 3,000 points (a list including Jackie Stiles of Southwest Missouri State, Patricia Hoskins of Mississippi Valley State, Lorri Bauman of Drake, Cheryl Miller of USC, and Cindy Blodgett of Maine). She is also one of five women's collegiate basketball players to ever accumulate over 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 300 assists and 300 steals (a list that includes teammate Tamika Catchings, Cheryl Miller of USC, Sophia Young of Baylor, and Armintie Price of Mississippi.) In 1999, Holdsclaw received the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States. Holdsclaw also won the Naismith trophy for player of the year twice, in 1998 and 1999 and posted a 134–17 win/loss record during her remarkable career as a Lady Vol. In 2000 she was named Naismith's Player of the Century for the 1990s and was also part of an ESPY award given to the Lady Vols as Co-Team of the Decade for the 1990s. In 1996, 1997 and 1998, Holdsclaw was named to the Final Four All Tournament team.^[4]

In 2006, Holdsclaw was named to a women's collegiate basketball silver anniversary team for being picked as one of the 25 greatest players of the past 25 years. She was also picked as one of the 5 greatest players in the SEC of the past 25 years.

Holdsclaw is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

WNBA career[link]

In the 1999 WNBA Draft, Holdsclaw was selected by the Washington Mystics 1st overall. After this selection, Chamique gained the distinction of being the first, and only, female athlete to appear on the cover of SLAM Magazine. Furthermore, Chamique was pictured in a New York Knicks jersey, implying that perhaps she was good enough to be the first woman NBA player.

In her first season, she was named the Rookie of the Year, the first number one draft pick to win the honor. She was also a starter in the inaugural WNBA All-Star Game that same year. She is the first averaged 16.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game in her first season. The next year, Holdsclaw was named to the Olympic team, helping to lead them to a gold medal.

During her subsequent seasons in the WNBA, Holdsclaw continued to improve her numbers. In 2002, despite missing several games with an ankle injury, Holdsclaw averaged a double-double per game with 19.9 points and 11.5 rebounds. By 2003, she was averaging 20.5 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. On July 24, 2004, however, she failed to show up for a game against Charlotte, played one more game in reserve and then did not play the rest of the season including the entire playoffs. At first, Holdsclaw refused to discuss the reason for her absence, other than to rule out cancer, pregnancy and drug addiction, but following the season, she told The Washington Post that she was suffering from clinical depression and that she had been ashamed to discuss it with the public. It ends up her grandmother died, the woman who raised her and she went into a real depression. She decided not to stay in Washington because of to many memories.

On March 21, 2005, Holdsclaw was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks in exchange for DeLisha Milton-Jones.

In May 2006, Holdsclaw took a sudden two-week leave from playing for the Sparks, but later clarified that this was due to the serious illnesses of her father and stepfather. As of late June, she was averaging 14.4 points per game and 7 rebounds per game.

On June 11, 2007, only a few weeks into the 2007 WNBA season, she surprisingly announced she was retiring and did not immediately provide any explanation as to her sudden departure.^[5]

On December 17, 2008, the Atlanta Dream traded the 13th pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft to the Los Angeles Sparks in exchange for the rights to Holdsclaw. Holdsclaw stated she definitely considered a return to the WNBA if healthy, and did. Holdsclaw has found herself to be a constant part of the team's offense and a starter that season, despite an injury that kept her out several games toward the end of the season. However, she returned just in time for one game in the playoffs. The Dream lost to the Detroit Shock.

On May 19, 2010, she was released from the Dream after requesting a trade and did not report to the team. Two days later, she signed with the San Antonio Silver Stars.

International career[link]

Europe[link]

• 2004–2005: Ros Casares Valencia
• 2006–2007: TS Wisla Can-Pack Kraków, championship, MVP of the finals; season's average: 17.9 points per game
• 2007–2008: Lotos PKO BP Gdynia
• 2008–2009: TS Wisla Can-Pack Kraków

Vital statistics[link]

• Position: Forward
• Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
• College: University of Tennessee
• Team(s): Washington Mystics, Los Angeles Sparks and Atlanta Dream

See also[link]

Biography portal

• List of NCAA Division I women's basketball players with 3000 points

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Chamique Holdsclaw at WNBA.com
• Associated Press article about Holdsclaw's depression
• Official Website