Mark Jackson was forced to apologize after the NBA revealed he was the only voter who didn’t include Denver Nuggets star, Nikola Jokic in the MVP ballot.
The longtime ESPN analyst found himself in hot water after excluding Jokic from his top five.
He instead chose Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Donovan Mitchell.
Jackson issues apology over MVP
Jackson made an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio a few hours after the votes were unveiled to address the controversy, per Sports Illustrated.
He focused on the word ‘mistake’ as he attempted to do damage control, saying:
“Mistake. 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?’”
Jackson questioned after Jokic snub
However, the apology didn’t stop fans from blasting Jackson on social media.
Some fans said that the NBA should stop giving people like the analyst MVP voting rights.
Fans also posted the video of Charles Barkley calling out the voter who didn’t put Jokic on his MVP ballot.
Jackson later posted on Twitter to apologize to Jokic and the Nuggets, saying he made an honest mistake with his MVP votes.
He added the Serbian is not only a legitimate MVP candidate who deserved his vote, but he is truly one of the all-time greats.
Fans replied to his tweet and have continued to question his apology.
One fan asked Jackson how he missed out on voting for a candidate that was in the top 3 for everyone else on the panel.
Another fan said Jackson had only apologized because of the backlash he received.
Jokic stars in Game 5
Sports Brief recently reported on the Nuggets’ win over the Suns in Game 5.
Jokic starred in Denver’s 118-102 win, registering a crucial triple-double.
He scored 29 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and dished out 12 assists in the win.