ESPN broadcaster Mark Jackson has apologized for excluding Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic from his NBA MVP ballot.
Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid earned his first MVP for the 2022-23 season. Jokic, who won back-to-back MVP honors in 2021 and 2022, finished second in voting, followed by Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo. Out of 100 votes, Jokic received 15 first-place votes, 52 second-place votes and 32 third-place votes, meaning he appeared on 99 ballots from 100 participating sportswriters and broadcasters. Every ballot but one.
Charles Barkley publicly criticized the sportswriter who omitted Jokic from the ballot on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” earlier this week before the identity of the voter was revealed: “There’s one person — I don’t even know this fool’s name — didn’t even have (Jokic) in the top 5. People like that shouldn’t get a vote… He’s a (expletive) idiot.”
The NBA released MVP voter selections on Thursday, revealing the controversial voter to be Jackson, who called the omission an “honest mistake.”
“My apologies to the Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokic,” Jackson tweeted on Thursday. “He’s not only a legitimate MVP candidate who deserved my vote, but he is truly one of the all-time greats! My apologies again.”
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Jackson voted Embiid in first place, Antetokounmpo in second, Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum in third, Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in fourth place and Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell in fifth place.
He further explained his MVP voting gaffe during a brief appearance on the SiriusXM radio show, “NBA Today,” saying he mistakenly voted for All-NBA teams instead of MVP. (Antetokounmpo, Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, Embiid, Gilgeous-Alexander and Tatum made First Team. Jokic made Second Team.)
“I am thinking, how did I make that mistake?” Jackson said. “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.”
He continued: “I would have still voted for Joel Embiid the MVP, but with Giannis and Joker second and third.”
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Jackson said although it was a mistake, he will take any consequences that come his way, including being stripped of his MVP vote.
“One thing I live by, you make a mistake, you own it. I’m not a guy who does it for clicks or to be trending. Absolute mistake made by me,” Jackson said. “If you want to take away my vote or whatever, you’re more than welcome. I made a mistake… I own the mistake and I apologize.”
Jackson was selected out of St. John’s University with the 18th pick of the 1987 NBA draft by the New York Knicks. He also played for the Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets during his career, before transitioning to the broadcast booth. He served as the coach for the Golden State Warriors from 2011-2014.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mark Jackson was the only voter to leave Nikola Jokic off the NBA MVP ballot