2024 ESPYS: Not Just Caitlin Clark and A’ja Wilson, but NCAA Starlets JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers Also Shine Bright in Latest Nominations

It’s the end of June, which means ESPYS nominations. Just like every year, ESPN’s annual sports celebration is close, with all nominee names already revealed this morning. This marks the opening for voting lines until July 11th, when the results will be announced by tennis legend Serena Williams. As the list of nominees came out, the immediate focus was on NCAA stars who shined. But what are these young talents nominated for?

To share nominees with spectators, ESPN took to their X account and penned, “Nominees announced for The 2024 @ESPYS presented by Capital One as fan voting begins.” So, from the NCAA, Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins were standouts. JuJu Watkins is nominated as the Best Breakthrough Athlete alongside Haleigh Bryant, J. Stroud, and Victor Wembanyama. The Sierra Canyon School star started her journey at USC with all-time leading scoring as a freshman.

As of now, she features an impressive 27.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game this season despite being knocked out by the Huskies in the Elite Eight by 80-73. But these are just her on-court achievements. Apart from this, Watkins, 18, actively runs the Good Juju Holiday Giveback, a family NGO that helps children by donating sneakers and t-shirts to locals. Undoubtedly, all these on-court and off-court qualities make her the best breakthrough athlete.

Moving on, Paige Bueckers is nominated for the Best Comeback Athlete this season. Back in 2021, Paige sustained a tibial plateau fracture and LMT (lateral meniscus tear) in a matchup against Notre Dame. Even though UConn won the match, it cost her over two months in recovery. Finally, she made a return on February 25, 2022, to score eight against St. John.

Since her freshman year, Paige was finally heading towards a healthy season. But she once again got injured in August. This time, it was an ACL tear while picking up the ball at Werth Champions Center. Paige again made a comeback against Dayton on November 8. Since then, she hasn’t missed a single game for UConn, as she played in all 36 games. Coming back to the WNBA, two of the most famous stars Caitlin Clark and A’ja Wilson also find their nomination. What are they nominated for?

WNBA stars on the lead

While Wilson leads the league in scoring and rebounding with 27.8 points and 11.6 rebounds per game, Clark leads in ESPYS nominations. Just like last year, Clark is once again up for the category of Best Athlete in Women’s Sport for Iowa women’s basketball.

But this isn’t the only nomination Clark received this year. Interestingly, she has earned a trio of nominations at ESPY Awards. Apart from Best College Athlete, she earned nominations for Best Record-breaking Performance and Best Athlete. She has been nominated for a record-breaking performance for breaking Pete Maravich’s record by becoming the NCAA Division 1 all-time leader with 3,951 points over four years.

A’ja Wilson, on the other hand, has been nominated for Best Athlete Women’s Sport as a part of Las Vegas Aces. For those unaware, Wilson has been a major part of Las Vegas Aces’ brilliance in the league. The 2018 WNBA Draft No. 1 pick accumulated 682 points in her first season with the Aces. All this makes her a Best Athlete nominee. What do you think? Comment down below!

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.