The 49th People’s Choice Awards will celebrate and announce winners on Sunday, at 8 p.m. ET (NBC) from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. Under the “Pop Culture” category, the worldwide public voted for their favorite athlete of the year.
BetOhio.com took a break from Ohio sports betting and looked at which U.S. states had the greatest number of People’s Choice athlete of the year nominees. Out of the eight total nominees, four were from Ohio, one was from Florida and one was from California.
People’s Choice Nominees for “The Athlete”
Ohio betting apps list James’ Los Angeles Lakers at +4000 to win the NBA championship.
Ohio Dominates Athlete of the Year Race
The Buckeye State garnered 50% of the nominees with arguably four of the best athletes this generation has ever witnessed on their particular field of competition.
Akron native James’ accolades speak for themselves. The Lakers five-position player is one of the two greatest professional basketball players ever to play the game.
Westlake native, Kansas City Chiefs tight end and main Swiftie Travis Kelce has played in four Super Bowls during his 11-year NFL career, all with Kansas City, winning three titles since 2020 highlighted by the most recent in Super Bowl LVIII against San Francisco in Las Vegas on Sunday night. The nine-time Pro Bowler was the 63rd pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.
Columbus native and U.S. Olympic gymnast Simone Biles is the most decorated American gymnast in history with seven Olympic medals (9th all-time) and tied with Shannon Miller for the most by an American.
Born four years later than fellow Akron native and NBA All-Star James, Golden State Warriors shooting guard Stephen Curry has won four NBA titles, including one NBA Finals MVP Award (2022), and is the all-time leader in 3-pointers made, a record that he is adding to this very day. Fanatics Sportsbook Ohio lists the Warriors at +7500 to win the NBA Finals.
Who would be your pick from Ohio?
