“Honest Mistake” - Mark Jackson apologizes to Nikola Jokic for MVP vote snub

ESPN NBA analyst Mark Jackson has apologized for snubbing Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic from his MVP voting. After the NBA released the MVP voting, it became clear that one voter did not have Jokic in his top five. That voter turned out to be Jackson, who has since issued an apology.

The NBA analyst and former Golden State coach said it was an "honest mistake".

Jackson tweeted:

“Made an honest mistake with my MVP votes. My apologies to the Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokic. He’s not only a legitimate MVP candidate who deserved my vote, but he is truly one of the all time greats! Again my apologies."

Fellow NBA analyst Charles Barkley was one of the critics who called out the voter who did not vote for Jokic. Barkley did not know the voter was Jackson at the time of his comments. Barkley called the voter a “damn idiot” who did not deserve a vote.

Who won the NBA MVP?

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid won his first MVP this season, leading the votes. Jokic, who won back-to-back MVPs in 2021 and 2022, was second in the voting. Milwaukee Bucks star and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo finished third.

Jokic was included on 99 of the 100 submitted ballots, all except Jackson’s. Jokic finished with 15 first-place, 52 second-place, and 32 third-place votes this season.

Jackson’s ballot had Embiid in first place, Antetokounmpo in second, the Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum in third, the Oklahoma City Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in fourth place and the Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell in fifth place.

Jackson said his mistake came from a simple error. He thought he was voting for All-NBA First Team. When voting for the All-NBA teams, you have to pick two forwards and one center, which would prevent you from choosing centers Embiid and Jokic.

Jackson made the comments on Sirius NBA Radio to explain his mistake.

"I am thinking, how did I make that mistake? You can tell, I put one center, two forwards and two guards, so I wasn't even thinking. I apologize to the Denver Nuggets, I apologize to Nikola Jokić, who is not only in the MVP discussion and deserved to be on my ballot, but he's one of the greatest players in the history of this game. He's a top-10 center of all time."