Mark Jackson explains why he left Nikola Jokic off his MVP ballot / News - Basketnews.com

Mark Jackson said he didn't include Nikola Jokic in his MVP ballot because he made a mistake.

Credit: AFP, USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con-Scanpix Credit AFP, USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con-Scanpix

ESPN NBA analyst Mark Jackson didn't include the Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic in his MVP ballot, admitting he made a mistake.

Nikola Jokic

MIN:34.24PTS:25.35 (67.24%)REB:11.98As:9.81ST:1.24BL:0.69TO:3.56GM:80ProfileNBA2022/2023

Jackson was the only voter that didn't include Jokic in his MVP ballot, giving his vote to Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Donovan Mitchell.

Embiid won MVP, with Jokic finishing second. Jokic, who won back-to-back MVP awards the previous two seasons, finished with 15 first-place votes, 52 second-place votes, and 32 third-place votes for a total of 99 votes out of 100 ballots.

"One thing I live by, you make a mistake, you own it," Jackson said in an interview with SiriusXM NBA Radio's Justin Termine and Eddie Johnson. "Absolute mistake made by me. In 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."

Interestingly, Jackson's 1st All-NBA Team wasn't the same as his MVP ballot, even though an ESPN analyst argued that he confused the MVP ballot with All-NBA.

In his 1st All-NBA team, Jackson included Antetokounmpo, Tatum, Embiid, Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jaylen Brown.

"I apologize to the Denver Nuggets. I apologize to Nikola Jokic, who is not only in the MVP discussion and deserved to be on my ballot, but he is one of the greatest players in the history of this game and a top-10 center of all time. So I own it. If you want to take away my vote or do whatever, more than welcome. I made a mistake."

Jokic nearly averaged a triple-double with 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 9.8 assists, leading the NBA in triple-doubles with 29.

"I would have still voted for Joel Embiid the MVP," Jackson said. "But with Giannis and Joker, second and third. They deserve that. Incredible year by him. He continues to make history. I own the mistake, and I apologize."

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