Nowitzki led Mavericks to a victory over Miami Heat in the NBA finals, earning the award for the second month in a row, with 62 points scored during the final period of the six game series.


Na (pictured) made history when she beat Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 7-6 at Roland Garros to claim the French Open title.

She was given a homecoming celebration in Beijing after her stunning performance, which included winning the last nine points of the game.

Second place in the men's went to PGA golfer Rory McIlroy, whose 16-under 268 won him the US Open - a record for the least strokes played to claim an Open title.

He was also the second youngest major title winner since World War II.

Rafael Nadal came third after his stunning victory over Roger Federer in the final of the French Open, tying with Björn Borg for the most French Open titles.

In the women's category, Yani Tseng of Taiwan came second after becoming the youngest professional golfer to win four LPGA majors, with her 10-shot win at the LPGA championship a record.

Dallas Escobedo, who earned the Most Outstanding Player award, came in third for her performance as a pitcher for Arizona State University in their successful Women's College World Series campaign.

The winners will be in contention for this year's Athlete of the Year awards, to be decided in December.

Last year's winners were Spanish football star David Villa, who helped his country win the 2010 World Cup, and Yuna Kim, South Korea's number 1 figure skater.

Men:
1 Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
2 Rory McIlroy, PGA golfer
3 Rafael Nadal, men's tennis

Women:
1 Li Na, women's tennis
2 Yani Tseng, LPGA golfer
3 Dallas Escobedo, Arizona State softball

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]