The nominees and winners for the BET Award for Best Female Athlete & Male Athlete. Serena Williams holds the record for most wins in the Female Athlete category with 8 wins, she also holds the record for the most nominations, being nominated every year since the awards inception. LeBron James holds the records with 5 wins for Male Athlete. Kobe Bryant comes in second place with 3 awards. The Best Male Athlete has always been a basketball player until Michael Vick won it in 2011.
Some of the nominations have brought up some controversy. Reggie Bush was nominated for the award twice, in 2007 and 2009, despite putting up average numbers for a player at his position in both those seasons. In both years, he was nominated among athletes who were considered the best of the best in their sports, which upset some sports fans, as Bush has not accomplished enough to be in the same list as them.