Michael Jordan, Mark McGwire, Mario Lemieux, Jerry Rice, and Pete Sampras are the Male Athlete of the Decade nominees and Bonnie Blair, Steffi Graf, Mia Hamm and Chamique Holdsclaw for Female Athlete of the Decade. The Chicago Bulls, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Red Wings and New York Yankees will vie for Pro Team of the Decade, while Scotty Bowman, Phil Jackson, Pat Summit and Joe Torre are the nominees for Coach/Manager of the Decade.

The nominees for the 1999 honors include Tim Duncan, Pedro Martinez and Tiger Woods as Male Athlete of the Year and Mia Hamm, Marion Jones and Karrie Webb as Female Athlete of the Year. The nominees for Team of the Year are the Florida State football team, the New York Yankees, the U.S. Ryder Cup team and Women's World Cup team. Coach of the Year nominees are Bobby Bowden, Jim Calhoun and Joe Torre.

Nominees were chosen by the ESPY Select Nominating Committee of sports executives, journalists, and retired athletes. The ESPY Finalist Committee, made up of top athletes and coaches along with ESPN/ABC personnel, will select the winners. More nominees may be announced following the Super Bowl on January 30th.