The identity of the only voter who left Nikola Jokic completely off his NBA MVP ballot has been revealed.
On Thursday, the NBA released ballots after the All-NBA teams were announced, and they show ESPN analyst Mark Jackson was the voter who left the two-time MVP out of his top five. The former Warriors coach and current ESPN broadcaster was the sole voter who didn’t place the reigning two-time MVP among his top five candidates for the award this year. In order, Jackson went with:
Joel Embiid
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Jayson Tatum
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Donovan Mitchell
Jokic, a two-time MVP, finished the 2022-23 regular season averaging 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game. He should’ve made every single ballot.
The decision to leave Jokic off the ballot has drawn criticism, including from TNT analyst Charles Barkley, who said the then-unidentified voter was a “damn idiot.”
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“There’s one person, I don’t even know this fool’s name, that didn’t even have Joker in the top five,” Barkley said. “People like that shouldn’t get a vote.”
Here’s how social media responded:
The 17-year NBA veteran has not addressed why he left Jokic off his ballot.
Denver leads the series 3-2 over the Suns.
The Nuggets will look to close out the series after winning comfortably in Game 5 after Jokic was fined, but avoided a suspension for a courtside dust-up with Suns owner Matt Ishbia.
