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Philadelphia Phillies, Antonio Brown highlight Google's top trending sports terms of 2022

From the Beijing Winter Olympics to the World Cup in Qatar, 2022 has once again been another memorable year in sports.

Some of the biggest stories in the world involved athletes and teams – for on- and off-thefield reasons.

As part of its "Year of Search," Google released Wednesday its top trending search categories of 2022, including the top trending athletes, teams, matches and more searched this year. The lists are made up of some people who grabbed the biggest headlines and some of the biggest matchups of the year.

Google's data was taken from Jan. 1 through Nov. 27. The company defines trending items as "searches that had a high spike in traffic over a sustained period in 2022 as compared to 2021."

Here are some of the top trending sports searches of the year:

Philadelphia Phillies players celebrate after the final out of their 4-3 win over the San Diego Padres to win the National League Pennant in game five of the NLCS for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park.
Philadelphia Phillies players celebrate after the final out of their 4-3 win over the San Diego Padres to win the National League Pennant in game five of the NLCS for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park.

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Google's top trending athlete searches of 2022

The top trending athlete of the year only played one game in all of 2022.

Antonio Brown topped the list, as the former Tampa Bay wide receiver stripped his jersey and pads, threw his gear aside, did jumping jacks and waved to fans as he exited his team's Jan. 2 game against the New York Jets. He has been involved in other off the field instances since then.

Other notable people on the list include Manti Te'o, who had a Netflix documentary about his catfishing scandal debut in August; Brittney Griner, who was arrested and prisoned in Russia after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage; and Kamila Valieva, the Russian figure skater who was at the center of a doping scandal during the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Here's the top 10:

  1. Antonio Brown

  2. Serena Williams

  3. Joe Burrow

  4. Aaron Judge

  5. Manti Te'o

  6. Brittney Griner

  7. Shaun White

  8. Eileen Gu

  9. Baker Mayfield

  10. Kamila Valieva

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown gestures to the crowd as he leaves the field while his team's offense is on the field against the New York Jets during the third quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. Brown left the game and did not return.
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown gestures to the crowd as he leaves the field while his team's offense is on the field against the New York Jets during the third quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. Brown left the game and did not return.

Google's top trending sports team searches of 2022

The Philadelphia Phillies fell just short of winning the 2022 World Series, but it can claim the title of the top trending sports team of the year.

Of the top 10 teams on the list, only two – the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Rams – won titles this year. Despite the list being from U.S. searches only, NHL's Calgary Flames made the list.

  1. Philadelphia Phillies

  2. Boston Celtics

  3. Golden State Warriors

  4. Cincinnati Bengals

  5. Los Angeles Rams

  6. New York Rangers

  7. San Diego Padres

  8. San Francisco 49ers

  9. Cleveland Guardians

  10. Calgary Flames

Philadelphia Phillies Philllie Phanatic celebrates a win over the San Diego Padres to win the National League Pennant in game five of the NLCS for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park.
Philadelphia Phillies Philllie Phanatic celebrates a win over the San Diego Padres to win the National League Pennant in game five of the NLCS for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park.

Google's top trending games and matches of 2022

The 2022 NBA Finals was the top trending searched matchup of the year, as the two teams played six games in June.

The Rams were the most involved team in games searched, including their Super Bowl LVI victory against the Cincinnati Bengals. Five of the top 10 matches on the list were NFL games.

One matchup not involving teams that made the list was Jake Paul's boxing defeat of UFC fighter Anderson Silva.

  1. Warriors vs Celtics

  2. Rams vs 49ers

  3. Celtics vs Heat

  4. Jake Paul vs Anderson Silva

  5. Rams vs Bengals

  6. Bengals vs Chiefs

  7. Bucks vs Celtics

  8. Rams vs Bucs

  9. Suns vs Mavericks

  10. 49ers vs Packers

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) handles the ball against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the fourth quarter in game six of the 2022 NBA Finals.
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) handles the ball against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the fourth quarter in game six of the 2022 NBA Finals.

Google's top trending 'rules of...' searches of 2022

Google also had the rules of certain sports as a category, and the top two spots were taken by sports in the 2022 Winter Olympics – curling and hockey.

A major American sport, baseball, also made the list, which will already be undergoing another set of rule changes in the 2023 season.

  1. Rules of curling

  2. Rules of hockey

  3. Rules of cornhole

  4. Rules of pool

  5. Rules of badminton

  6. Rules of cricket

  7. Rules of baseball

  8. Rules of horseshoes

  9. Rules of kickball

  10. Rules of lacrosse

Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Google 2022's top sports trending searches: Manti Te'o, Phillies, more