25 most iconic sports photos from Getty Images this week

The sports world makes for a beautiful palette but individual images can get lost in the constant shuffle. Here are the most iconic sports photos from Getty Images this week.

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors celebrates with the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award after defeating the Boston Celtics 103-90 in Game 6 of the 2022 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 16, 2022, in Boston, Massachusetts.

Stephen Curry had just emerged from the celebration in the locker room after game six of the NBA Finals and with film crew in tow, he was making his way to the press conference room. In this image, Curry was sitting outside the door of the press room, waiting for head coach Steve Kerr to wrap up his press conference. I was running off to make some images at the press conference and met Curry in the hallway. As he was sitting in a chair outside of the door, he was smiling, laughing and admiring his MVP award. He had just left the locker room and I could still smell the champagne and could see drops of it on his goggles.

— Elsa

Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning makes a save against Valeri Nichushkin of the Colorado Avalanche during the second period in Game 2 of the 2022 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Ball Arena on June 18, 2022, in Denver, Colorado.

This certainly wasn’t the photo that told the story of the game as the Colorado Avalanche shut out the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-0 in Game 2. But when you have one of the NHL’s best goaltenders in the nets, his instinct is to never give up and never let down. From the upstairs position, the apparent speed of the game slows down and the view of the game becomes more three-dimensional. With this, comes an increased ability to read the play. I’ve always said that I prefer ice level and seeing the player’s eyes, but with Getty Images’ photographer Harry How on the crew, I knew I couldn’t go wrong switching up our positions.

In this frame, Valeri Nichushkin of Colorado glided in towards Andrei Vasilevskiy of Tampa Bay. I shot a blast at twenty frames per second and hoped for several things – that the focus locked on to the goaltender and that Nichushkin didn’t obscure the puck in the glove. When all frames were reviewed there were three that fit the bill. When you do the math, three good ones out of the forty give you a pretty good idea of just how fast this sport is.

— Matthew Stockman

Team Switzerland competes in the Artistic Swimming Team Technical Preliminaries on day three of the Budapest 2022 FINA World Championships at Alfred Hajos National Aquatics Complex on June 19, 2022, in Budapest, Hungary.

I shot this photo of Team Switzerland competing during the Artistic Swimming Team Technical Preliminaries at the FINA World Championships using an underwater robotic camera. The camera is positioned on the bottom of the competition pool and is tethered to a laptop computer where I use a gaming console controller to tilt, pan, zoom and focus the camera and lens. I can track the team’s movements as they perform a synchronized swim routine around the pool.

This image was captured just after the team began their performance and entered the pool. The contrast of the blue water and the texture of the air bubbles creates a cool look. These elements combined with the swimmers produce a very moody and intriguing image shot from a perspective that spectators attending the event can’t see. As photographers, we are constantly trying to make sports look interesting, and we can achieve this by shooting from an underwater perspective.

— Tom Pennington

Valentina Shevchenko of Kyrgyzstan reacts as she grapples with Taila Santos of Brazil in their flyweight title bout during UFC 275 at Singapore Indoor Stadium on June 12, 2022, in Singapore.

This fight was one of the two title fights in the main card, and Taila Santos was looking to claim the belt from defending flyweight champ, Valentina Shevchenko. Santos had control for most of the early rounds of the fight, forcing Shevchenko onto the ground and into grapples. With UFC’s octagon and fixed photo positions, you have to hope that the action is happening in front of you, and just slightly away from the cage, so you don’t get much of the lines in frame. I got lucky with a few grapples and submission attempts in the first three rounds, and I opted to go in for a tighter frame to show Santos exploiting Shevchenko’s moment of vulnerability. The fight eventually ended in favor of Shevchenko with a split decision victory.

— Yong Teck Lim

Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche scores a goal against Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first period in Game 1 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final at Ball Arena on June 15, 2022 in Denver, Colorado.

Game 1, first period, and three goals scored in front of the hockey netcam – truly a dream come true. The replay on the center ice scoreboard looked great, and my camera was right below the TV ball. With the netcam, there is always the risk that RF frequencies will disrupt the signal that I send from my on-ice photo position 200’ away. But it worked, to the tune of a bunch of usable images. The puck and shooter clearly seen along with the back of the goaltender failing to make the save. Even being so early in the game, the netcam had already been run into and twisted down so the top crossbar is not in the frame. That could have been a minor disaster, but Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche bent down just enough to fit my cropping.

— Bruce Bennett

Ariuntamir Enkh-Amgalan of Team Mongolia and Aishath Sausan of Team Maldives compete in the Women’s 100m Backstroke heat on day two of the Budapest 2022 FINA World Championships at Duna Arena on June 19, 2022, in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Robert Williams III of the Boston Celtics blocks a shot against Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors in the first half during Game Four of the 2022 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 10, 2022, in Boston, Massachusetts. The Golden State Warriors won 107-97 (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Matthew Fitzpatrick of England lines up a putt on the sixth green during the final round of the 122nd U.S. Open Championship at The Country Club on June 19, 2022, in Brookline, Massachusetts. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays is celebrated by teammates Teoscar Hernandez, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Santiago Espinal after hitting a walk-off RBI single in the 10th inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre on June 15, 2022, in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)

Yukiko Inui of Team Japan competes in the Artistic Swimming Women’s Solo Technical Final on day two of the Budapest 2022 FINA World Championships at Alfred Hajos National Aquatics Complex on June 18, 2022, in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

Lorenzo Sonego of Italy dives for a shot in his match against Denis Kudla of The United States during the Men’s Singles First Round match on day two of the cinch Championships at The Queen’s Club on June 14, 2022, in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Blake Aldridge of Great Britain competes during the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series on June 18, 2022, in Paris, France. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Abby Steiner of Kentucky reacts after the 4×400 meter relay during the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field on June 11, 2022, in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Andrew Redmayne of Australia reacts after saving a penalty shootout goal in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Playoff match between Australia Socceroos and Peru at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on June 13, 2022, in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)

Will Zalatoris of the United States reacts to his missed putt for birdie on the 18th green during the final round of the 122nd U.S. Open Championship at The Country Club on June 19, 2022, in Brookline, Massachusetts. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics and Otto Porter Jr. of the Golden State Warriors react to a play during the second quarter in Game Five of the 2022 NBA Finals at Chase Center on June 13, 2022, in San Francisco, California (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Caley McGinty of Team Great Britain and Ireland tees off on the second hole during the Day Three singles matches of The Curtis Cup at Merion Golf Club on June 12, 2022, in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Andrew Redington/R&A/R&A via Getty Images )

Hulk of Atletico Mineiro competes for the ball with Andre of Fluminense during the match between Fluminense and Atletico Mineiro at Maracana Stadium on June 8, 2022, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Wagner Meier/Getty Images)

Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the Miami Marlins slides home safely to score a run during the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals at loanDepot park on June 9, 2022, in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Britton Holmes (red singlet) competes against Kamal Bey (blue singlet) in the Men’s Greco-Roman 77kg match during the 12th Annual Beat the Streets Wrestling Benefit at The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden on June 8, 2022, in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

Grant Holloway of the USA competes in the Men’s 110m hurdle and comes in second during the New York Grand Prix at Icahn Stadium on June 12, 2022, in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

Phil Mickelson of the United States plays a shot from a bunker on the 16th hole during a practice round prior to the 122nd U.S. Open Championship at The Country Club on June 15, 2022, in Brookline, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Ozzie Albies of the Atlanta Braves reacts as he has a bucket of bubblegum dumped on his head following a grand slam during the seventh inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Truist Park on June 11, 2022, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

Daniel Suarez, driver of the No. 99 Onx Homes/Renu Chevrolet, and crew celebrate by spraying champagne in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 12, 2022, in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Hugh Bowman on Born A King wins race 5 of the Roger Norton Handicap during Sydney Racing at Rosehill Gardens on June 18, 2022, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)