June 22, 2023
ESPN released the 2023 nominees for its annual ESPY Awards show and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts along with Sixers center Joel Embiid are both up for the award of their respective league's best.
In the running for "Best NFL Player," Hurts is in a field with the 49ers' Nick Bosa, the Vikings' Justin Jefferson, and Chiefs superstar QB Patrick Mahomes.
While Embiid, the NBA's 2023 MVP, is up for "Best NBA Player" against the Heat's Jimmy Butler, the Celtics' Jayson Tatum, and the Nuggets' Finals MVP Nikola Jokić.
Hurts had a breakout, MVP-caliber season under center in 2022, leading the Eagles on a run that tore right through the Vikings in Week 2 and then the 49ers in the NFC Championship before being stopped just a field goal short of a Super Bowl title by Mahomes' Chiefs.
Embiid turned in a dominant regular season that saw him win his second-straight scoring title in historic fashion and made him the undeniable choice to finally receive the NBA MVP Award after battling Jokić for it and losing in the two years prior. However, he and the Sixers hit that dreaded second-round wall in the playoffs again, losing to Tatum's Celtics in seven games in soul-crushing fashion. Then for fans, seeing Jokić and the Nuggets go on to win it all didn't make that pill any easier to swallow.
Hurts and Embiid both have their cases here, but knowing their competition's nationwide popularity, these awards feel almost designed for Mahomes and Jokić to win.
But there's always the chance of a surprise.
The ESPY Awards will air July 12 at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Check out the full nominees list for the midsummer awards show HERE.
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