Team New Zealand are just the second New Zealand sports team to ever be nominated for the Team of the Year award.
The All Blacks have been nominated for the award five times since it was established in 2000, winning in 2016.
"We came from some pretty dark places early on in our campaign and to be able to come through, be the lone wolf of the whole America's Cup programme - keeping the America's Cup going forward was really a huge effort," Ashby said.
"I think to be able to put yachting on the world stage, with absolutely international successful teams is a real honour and to be able to represent our fellow teammates in that arena is something that I think Kevin and I are obviously very, very proud to be able to come over and do it."
The team's skipper noted their performance in the Louis Vuitton Cup as the momentum builder, and Shoebridge added the turning point of their campaign came before the battle for the America's Cup had even begun.
"I would say one of the memorable moments for me was the recovery the team made after the boat capsized in the race against the British team in the semifinals. That was pretty much the establishing court for the campaign for us.
"The campaign could very easily have been over but it wasn't. We had a 72 hour period to repair the boat and get it back on the race course, and from that point on for me felt like the momentum changed and we felt sort of almost unstoppable at that point. It was a bit of a turning point in the campaign, so that was a memorable moment for me."
New Zealand Laureus award nominees since 2000
Team of the Year: All Blacks 2006, 2007, 2012 and 2014, won the award in 2016; Team New Zealand 2018.
Comeback of the Year: Jonah Lomu 2006; Crusaders 2012; Daniel Carter won the award in 2016.
Sportswoman of the Year: Valerie Adams 2015.
Sportsperson of the Year with a disability: Sophie Pascoe 2014 and 2017.
Action Sports Athlete of the Year: Levi Sherwood 2011.
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