2012 ESPY AWARDS HONORED ATHLETES – LEBRON JAMES, MIAMI HEAT BIG WINNERS

Honoring the world of sports, the 2012 ESPY Awards handed out trophies for top athletes this year on Wednesday at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, where Lebron James and his team Miami Heat scored big.

James, who won his first NBA title this year with the Miami Heat, wins 3 leading awards at ESPY. He was honored with Best Male Athlete, Best Championship Performance, and Best NBA Player awards.

He wasn’t on hand to accept the awards because he was in Las Vegas with the rest of the U.S. national team preparing for the 2012 London Olympics. He appeared via satellite hookup for the show held by sports cable TV network ESPN.

Miami Heat were honored with the Best Team Award for winning the NBA title over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Juwan Howard and Mike Miller accepted for the Heat.

Meanwhile, this year for sports was also memorable with New York Knicks basketball player Jeremy Lin, who added a little bit of “Linsanity” in ESPY for winning the Breakthrough Athlete of the Year.

Complete list of nominees and winners for the 2012 ESPY Awards:

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

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

Best Championship Performance
* LeBron James, NBA Playoffs
David Freese, World Series
Eli Manning, Super Bowl
Tony Stewart, Sprint Cup
Jonathan Quick, Stanley Cup

Best Breakthrough Athlete
* Jeremy Lin, New York Knicks
Anthony Davis, Kentucky Basketball
Robert Griffin III, Baylor Football
Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
Alex Morgan, Soccer

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

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

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

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

Best Play
* Christian Watford, Game Winner
Joe Adams, Punt Return
Derrick Salberg, Catch
Edson Barboza, K.O.

Best Coach/Manager
* Tom Coughlin, NY Giants
John Calipari, Kentucky Basketball
Kim Mulkey, Baylor Women’s Basketball
Patrick Murphy, Alabama Softball
Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat
Darryl Sutter, L.A. Kings

Best Comeback Athlete
* Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Johan Santana, New York Mets
Maria Sharapova, Tennis

Best International Athelete
* Lionel Messi, Soccer
Novak Djokovic, Tennis
Cristiano Ronaldo, Soccer
Yani Tseng, Golfer

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

Best MLB Player
* Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers
Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers
Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

Best NHL Player
* Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings
Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers
Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning

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

Best NBA Player
* LeBron James, Miami Heat
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves
Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs
Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics

Best WNBA Player
* Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury
Seimone Augustus, Minnesota Lynx
Tamika Catchings, Indiana Fever
Tina Charles, Connecticut Sun
Angel McCoughtry, Atlanta Dream

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

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

Best Female Golfer
* Cristie Kerr
Yani Tseng
So Yeon Ryu

Best Male Tennis Player
* Novak Djokovic
Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal

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

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

Best Female College Athlete
* 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
* Shaun White
Travis Rice
Kelly Slater
Ryan Villopoto

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

Best Jockey
* Mario Gutierrez
Javier Castellano
Ramon Dominguez
John Velazquez

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

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

Best Bowler
* Sean Rash
Jason Belmonte
Mike Fagan

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

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

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