With just more than a month before Nickelodeon’s inaugural Kids’ Choice Sports Awards, TheWrap can exclusively reveal several of the athletes and stars who will be presenting at the ceremony on July 17.
The following athletes and stars will present the awards which will be voted upon by kids in several categories.
Without further ado, here’s the first batch of Kids’ Choice Sports Awards presenters:
— Super Bowl XLVIII champion Marshawn Lynch (Seattle Seahawks)
— NBA superstar Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder)
— Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)
— Nick Cannon (“America’s Got Talent”)
— Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
— Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers)
— Victor Cruz (New York Giants)
— Metta World Peace (New York Knicks)
— George Lopez (“Lopez Tonight”)
— pro skateboarder Tony Hawk
— Olympic snowboarder Kelly Clark
— pro surfer Bethany Hamilton
— Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney
— Debby Ryan (“Jessie”)
— Dez Bryant (Dallas Cowboys)
— Raini Rodriguez (“Austin & Ally”).
Hosted and executive-produced by “GMA,” “Live with Kelly and Michael” and “Fox NFL Sunday’s” Michael Strahan, the Kids’ Choice Sports 2014 will air live on Thursday, July 17 at 8/7c from UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.
Beginning June 12, kids will be able to cast their votes in the following 14 categories on Nick.com/sports.
The categories and nominees are:
BEST MALE ATHLETE
They are, simply put, the best athletes in the world. Driving the offense or barreling through the toughest defense, they never cease to amaze us with their athleticism, their moves and their mastery of the game. In short, the nominees for these two categories represent the best male and female athletes currently competing in traditional sports.
Tom Brady (NFL, New England Patriots)
Kevin Durant (NBA, Oklahoma City Thunder)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (NASCAR)
LeBron James (NBA, Miami Heat)
Derek Jeter (MLB, New York Yankees)
Peyton Manning (NFL, Denver Broncos)
Dwyane Wade (NBA, Miami Heat)
Tiger Woods (Golf)BEST FEMALE ATHLETE
Gabby Douglas (US Gymnastics)
Gracie Gold (US Figure Skater)
Candace Parker (WNBA, Los Angeles Sparks)
Danica Patrick (NASCAR)
Hope Solo (NWSL, Seattle Reign FC)
Lindsey Vonn (US Skiing)
Serena Williams (WTA)FAVORITE NEWCOMER
The excitement surrounding a new sports prospect can be incredible, especially when that prospect starts to deliver on the anticipation of greatness. The nominees in this category represent the first or second year pros that have lived up to the hype – in other words, the newbie that is most likely to succeed.
Skylar Diggins (WNBA, Tulsa Shock)
Bryce Harper (MLB, Washington Nationals)
Yasiel Puig (MLB, Los Angeles Dodgers)
Sloane Stephens (WTA)
Mike Trout (MLB, Anaheim Angels)
Russell Wilson (NFL, Seattle Seahawks)FAVORITE CATCH
Every season has its most talked about, spectacular or awe-inspiring catches. The nominees in this category represent the MLB or NFL athletes who have made the most unbelievable, highlight reel-worthy catches of the year from baseball or football.
Dez Bryant (NFL, Dallas Cowboys)
Calvin Johnson (NFL, Detroit Lions)
Yaisel Puig (MLB, Los Angeles Dodgers)
Mike Trout (MLB, Anaheim Angels)BEST SAVE
They are the last line of defense between the puck or the ball and the goal. Play after play, the goalies of hockey and soccer make the impossible stops – using their bodies to keep their teams on top. The nominees in this category represent goalies who have made the most incredible saves of the year.
Tim Howard (English club Everton and the United States Men’s National Team)
Henrik Lundqvist (NHL, New York Rangers)
Ryan Miller (NHL, St. Louis Blues)
Jonathan Quick (NHL, Los Angeles Kings)
Hope Solo (NWSL, Seattle Reign FC)CLUTCH PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Teammates rely on these athletes to make the plays when it counts the most. Their participation is clutch to the success of their teams, and the fans know it. The nominees in this category come from a variety of sports and alter the game just by being on the field.
Carmelo Anthony (NBA, New York Knicks)
Skylar Diggins (WNBA, Tulsa Shock)
Kevin Durant (NBA, Oklahoma City Thunder)
LeBron James (NBA, Miami Heat)
Marshawn Lynch (NFL, Seattle Seahawks)
David Ortiz (MLB, Boston Red Sox)
Abby Wambach (NWSL, The Western NY Flash)SICKEST MOVES
Professional athletes make it look so easy that sometimes we forget the sheer agility required to play with the best of the best. Until you see the nominees of this category do their thing – they’re the soccer players with the mind-blowing dribble, the hockey players who can do amazing things on skates or the football players who dazzle us with their fancy footwork.
Sidney Crosby (NHL, Pittsburgh Penguins)
Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy and the United States Men’s National Team)
Blake Griffin (NBA, Los Angeles Clippers)
Lionel Messi (Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Argentine Men’s National Team)
Alex Morgan (NWSL, Portland Thorns)
Alexander Ovechkin (NHL, Washington Capitals)
Chris Paul (NBA, Los Angeles Clippers)
Adrian Peterson (NFL, Minnesota Vikings)DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME AWARD
They flip, fly and soar their way into the highlight reels of the X games and other action sports competitions on the regular and kids can’t get enough. They’re the death-defying athletes of slopestyle, the BMX racers or the skateboarders who risk life and limb every day to accomplish the impossible.
Nyjah Huston (American professional street skateboarder)
Travis Pastrana (motorsports competitor)
Kelly Slater (Surfer)
Lindsey Vonn (US Skiing)
Shaun White (American professional snowboarder and skateboarder)SMELLS LIKE TEAM SPIRIT
A team is nothing without its fans – we’ve seen fans’ support pull a team out of a tough situation again and again. The nominees in this category represent the best fans in professional sports – the rally-caped, face-painted, “never give up on your team” fanatics who live for their team no matter what. Now we honor them by including them in the nominees for this category that will be accepted by a member of the team and a fan.
Detroit Red Wings Fans
Green Bay Packers Fans
Oakland Raiders Fans
Oklahoma City Thunder Fans
Pittsburgh Steelers Fans
Seattle Seahawks FansPARTY LIKE A SPORTS STAR (Best Victory Celebration)
Win or lose, athletes always lay it all on the line, so when they win, they let it all hang out – dancing in the end zone, ripping off their shirts and sliding across the field in exaltation. The nominees in this category represent the athletes who know how to celebrate a win, team or solo, from the world of professional sports.
Victor Cruz (NFL, New York Giants)
Knowshon Moreno (NFL, Miami Dolphins)
Rafael Nadal (ATP)
Cam Newton (NFL, Carolina Panthers)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Spanish club Real Madrid and Portugal Men’s National Team)
Abby Wambach (NWSL, The Western NY Flash)KING OF SWAG
All professional athletes do incredible things, but there are a select few who also look incredible while they’re doing it. The male and female nominees in this category are the best dressed, most stylin’, most swag worthy couple of athletes off the court.
Eric Decker (NFL, New York Jets)
Henrik Lundqvist (NHL, New York Rangers)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Spanish club Real Madrid and Portugal Men’s National Team)
Amar’e Stoudemire (NBA, New York Knicks)
Dwyane Wade (NBA, Miami Heat)
Russell Westbrook (NBA, Oklahoma City Thunder)QUEEN OF SWAG
Skylar Diggins (WNBA, Tulsa Shock)
Gabby Douglas (US Gymnast)
Lolo Jones (US Track and Field and Bobsled)
Maria Sharapova (WTA)
Lindsey Vonn (US Skiing)
Serena Williams (WTA)BIGGEST CANNON
Some of the most incredible arms in sports belong to athletes from the worlds of baseball, football and tennis. This category honors the outfielders, pitchers, catchers, quarterbacks and tennis players with the strongest arms in the game.
Novak Djokovic (ATP)
Clayton Kershaw (MLB, Los Angeles Dodgers)
Cam Newton (NFL, Carolina Panthers)
Aaron Rodgers (NFL, Green Bay Packers)
Ben Roethlisberger (NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers)
Justin Verlander (MLB, Detroit Tigers)
Serena Williams (WTA)FAVORITE COMEBACK ATHLETE
Injuries a part of the game, but getting back from them is about perseverance, dedication and heart. The nominees in this category have all overcome potentially career-ending injuries to come back in a big way.
Bethany Hamilton (Surfer)
Peyton Manning (NFL, Denver Broncos)
Adrian Peterson (NFL, Minnesota Vikings)
Albert Pujols (MLB, Anaheim Angels)
Rajon Rondo (NBA, Boston Celtics)
Russell Westbrook (NBA, Oklahoma City Thunder)
