Mark Jackson Apologizes for Leaving Nikola Jokić Off 2023 NBA MVP Ballot
Mark Jackson was the dissenting voice leaving Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokić off their Most Valuable Player ballot entirely.
The former NBA point guard and ESPN broadcaster went with the consensus and had Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid in first place. One of the 23 second-place votes for Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo came from Jackson as well.
From there he followed with the Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum, the Oklahoma City Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell.
Awards voting is always a subjective exercise. When it came to this year's MVP race, there were a number of permutations that could've made sense.
Having said that, it's tough to see the logic behind Jackson's ranking.
Jokić averaged 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 9.8 assists and had a career-high and league-leading 70.1 percent true shooting clip, per Basketball Reference. The two-time MVP also helped the Nuggets finish with the best record in the Western Conference (53-29).
To put a little more context behind Jackson's ballot, no other voter ranked Jokić lower than third.
After the votes became public on Thursday, Jackson apologized for his "mistake" during an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio's NBA Today.
"Mistake," Jackson said (h/t Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post). "One thing I live by, you make a mistake, you own it. I'm not a guy that does it for clicks or to be trending. Absolute mistake made by me. I am thinking, how did I make that mistake?"
