The Year That Was: Highlights from the 2023 King of The Court Awards Show
The King of the Court podcast hosted its inaugural awards ceremony to close out 2023, celebrating the year's highlights, low-lights, rivalries and revelations in professional pickleball. Hosted by longtime friends and pickleball personalities Tyler Loong and Jimmy Miller, the free-flowing and irreverent awards show touched on pickleball's rapid evolution over the past year.
Though still considered an upstart sport by many, pickleball has seen explosive growth at both the grassroots and professional levels. The PPA and MLP merged in 2023 and then they didn't and now they might, media coverage is at an all-time high, and major sponsors are taking notice.
However, growing pains persist - the pros voted to unionize, under-the-table payments generated controversy, and increased money and visibility also ratcheted up rivalries between the sport's biggest stars.
The King of the Court Awards dove headfirst into these trends while also celebrating pickleball's personalities and power couples.eight categories were covered:
1. Best Couple Legal in All 50 States (1:41) Nominees:
- Anna Bright & James Ignatowich
- Lucy Kovalova & Matt Wright
- Hunter Johnson & Paris Todd
- Riley Newman & Donna's porch plant
- SoCal Hard Eights
- Seattle Pioneers
- LA Mad Drops
- Chicago Slice
- Tyson McGuffin
- Christian Alshon
- Allyce Jones
- Tyra Black
- Riley Newman
- Julian Arnold
- Colin Johns
- Hayden Patriquin
- Federico Staksrud & AJ Koller
- Colin Johns & Julian Arnold
- Tyson McGuffin & Tyler Loong
- Lea Jansen & Catherine Parenteau
- Ben Johns
- JW Johnson
- Dylan Fraizer
- Zane Navratil
- Lucy Kovalova
- Callie Smith
- Paris Todd
- Maddie Pickles
- Pickle Pod
- Sorry Not Sorry
- It Feels Right
- James Ignatowich Show
- Pickelball Chick
- Memes of Pickleball
- Tropical Pickleball
- All Things Pickleball
- San Clemente, CA
- Cincinnati, OH
- Atlanta, GA
- Dallas, TX
- San Clemente, CA
- Cincinnati, OH
- Atlanta, GA
- Dallas, TX
- The Newmans (Riley and Lindsay Newman)
- The Johns Brothers (Ben Johns and Collin Johns)
- The Waters (Anna Leigh Waters and Leigh Waters)
- The Kawamotos (Jackie Kawamoto and Jade Kawamoto)
- The Brascia (Mary Brascia and Maggie Brascia)
- The Dawsons (Callan, Tyler, Steve, Jennifer Dawson)
- The Cousins (AJ Koller and Thomas Wilson)
- The Eskimo Brothers (DJ Young & Greg Dow)
To conclude, the King of the Court Awards provided a lively review of pickleball's standout moments over the past year. Hosts Tyler Loong and Jimmy Miller kept the mood light even when discussing controversial issues, demonstrating their rapport and ability to poke fun at stars while also celebrating impressive athletic achievements.
With increased viewership and sponsorship heading into 2024, pickleball appears poised to command an even bigger spotlight - though the sport seems just as likely to make headlines for its personality clashes as its exciting rallies. However, the 2023 awards show proved pickleball also has no shortage of camaraderie and charm amongst its tight-knit community.
Best Couple
There was lively debate between hosts Tyler and Jimmy about whether on-court partnerships like Anna Bright/James Ignatowich and Lucy Kovalova/Matt Wright should beat out off-court relationships. However, they landed on dark horse nominee Riley Newman and his unexpected "relationship" with a porch plant as the most amusing choice.
MLP Team of the Year
While the Seattle Pioneers were early favorites after a successful regular season, Tyler argued hard for the undefeated SoCal Hard Eights despite their status as a "challenger" team in the league. In the end he convinced Jimmy through an impassioned (mock) acceptance speech.
Crowd Pleaser
This category highlighted pickleball's embrace of big personalities, with the acrobatic and flashy Christian Alshan beating out even notorious showman Tyson McGuffin. Jimmy and Tyler reminisced about Alshon's between-the-legs "tweener" shot against Ben Johns being one of the most exciting pickleball highlights of 2023.
Best Trash Talker
Though 18-year-old Hayden Patriquin took home the prize, Jimmy and Tyler paid homage to the "OG" of pickleball trash talk, Jeff Warick. They jokingly lamented that Jeff was now relegated to giving parking citations on a scooter.
Best Rivalry
In a surprise twist, Tyler picked the recent falling out between former gold medal partners Matt Wright and Riley Newman over more established feuds. He highlighted the intensity continuing off-court, with their new 2024 partnerships already trading barbs.
Best Dressed Female
Lucy Kovalova took home this fashion prize. Jimmy emphasized her commitment to never wearing the same outfit twice and marveled at the logistics of transporting so many costume changes. Tyler then confessed to his own "one carry-on" approach to packing.
Best Pickleball Podcast
In the biggest upset of the night, Tyler and Jimmy awarded the brand-new "World's Shortest Pickleball Podcast" hosted by Maddie for most concise content. They played his brief acceptance speech remarking on the irony of winning "most podcast" with the shortest runtime.
Worst Dressed Male
JW Johnson earned this dubious honor, with Jimmy riffing on his affinity for both gray shirts that show sweat and cow-print pants misidentified as camo. However, co-nominee Zane Navratil lightheartedly protested the results in his own acceptance speech.
Worst Venue
The pros voted Seattle as 2023's least popular tournament site for player experience, citing issues with long walking distances between courts and inconsistent shadows/lighting. Jimmy empathized though, noting it was likely tough finding appropriate venues in the pickleball capital.
First Family of Pickleball
In the show's most cryptic inside joke, Jimmy declared recent mixed national champs DJ Young and Greg Dow as pickleball's top "family" due to being Eskimo brothers. A confused Tyler had no idea what he meant but decided to just let the dubious award stand.
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