ESPN Magazine Body Issue 2012: Nude Cover & Inside Photos Revealed

ESPN The Magazine will put out their annual "Body Issue" this week, which features a select number of athletes in the nude. Several images from the highly-anticipated issue were revealed today.

Basketball player Tyson Chandler, the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year will be appearing on the front of one of several athlete-fronted covers, according their website.

Like Us on Facebook

There will be 27 athletes in all appearing in the magazine ranging from famous players in popular sports like the NFL to lesser known names from uncommon sports such as fencing and sailing, according to bleacherreport.com.

"It's okay to stare. That's what The Body Issue is here for", said a statement on the magazine's website. "Each year, we stop to admire the vast potential of the human form. To unapologetically stand in awe of the athletes who've pushed their physiques to profound frontiers. To imagine how it would feel to inhabit those bodies, to leap and punch and throw like a god. To ... well, gawk. So go ahead; join us."

This year's ESPN The Magazine's "The Body Issue", is "its fourth annual celebration of the athletic form, will feature 27 world-class athletes, including New England Patriots' tight end Rob Gronkowski, Toronto Blue Jays' slugger Jose Bautista, U.S. Women's National Soccer Team forward Abby Wambach and New York Knicks' center Tyson Chandler", continued the statement.

All 27 athletes posed nude for the issue's signature "Bodies We Want" photo portfolio. Here is the list of the athlete lineup:

• Carlos Bocanegra (soccer)
• Daniela Hantuchova (WTA)

• Rob Gronkowski(NFL)

• Abby Wambach (soccer)
• Tyson Chandler (NBA)
• Candace Parker (WNBA)

• Maurice Jones-Drew(NFL)
• Jose Bautista(MLB)
• Brad Richards(NHL)

• Maya Gabiera (surfing)
• Ronda Rousey (MMA)
• Mike Smith (jockey)
• Tim Morehouse (fencing)
• Walter Dix (track)
• Danell Leyva (gymnastics)

• Suzann Pettersen(LPGA)

• Ashton Eaton (decathlon)
• Carmelita Jeter (track)
• Anna Tunnicliffe (sailing)
• Oksana Masters (paralympic rowing)

• USA Volleyball Team:

• Destinee Hooker
• Stacy Sykora
• Alisha Glass
• Cynthia Barboza
• Megan Hodge
• Nellie Spicer

• Heather Bown

The issue wil arrive on newsstands July 11, two weeks before the start of the London Games. Several U.S. Olympians will be featured, including 24-year-old decathlete Ashton Eaton, who set a new decathlon world record at the U.S. Track and Field Trials on June 23, and Carmelita Jeter, who won the 100-meter qualifying event that same day in Oregon.