Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) was the pick of Sports Illustrated's readers, but the magazine's editors chose tennis great Serena Williams as its Sportsperson of the Year.
In announcing the decision Monday, the editors wrote, “This was no ordinary year in sports, in which Sports Moments™ were produced in bulk, from the first Triple Crown in 37 years (American Pharoah) to the first U.S. hat trick in Women's World Cup history (Carli Lloyd) to the first 24-0 start in NBA history, which came on the heels of an NBA title (Steph Curry's Warriors). The longest-tenured SI staffers could not recall a year so deep in candidates who in several other years might have been considered the obvious Sportsperson recipient. In the end, as you already know, we chose Serena Williams, and even amid such a rich collection of finalists, she was a decisive choice.”
In results announced Sunday, American Pharoah was the runaway leader of Sports Illustrated's readers' poll, earning 47% of the votes. His closest rival was the World Series-winning Kansas City Royals with 29% of the votes. Williams received 5,520 votes to American Pharoah's 278,824.
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