Superstar Nikola Jokic is one of the best players in the league, and there’s no question that he has shown he is one of the best centers in NBA history. He led the Denver Nuggets to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, and the team has a legitimate chance of getting to the Finals.
There is no doubt that in the regular season, Nikola Jokic had an MVP-level season. However, Mark Jackson inexplicably didn’t have him on his ballot as an MVP candidate at all. Recently, Mark Jackson apologized for his mistake, noting that he put a variety of players from different positions as if he was voting for All-NBA teams.”
“You make a mistake you own it… Absolute mistake made by me… You can tell I put one center, two forwards, and two guards… I wasn’t even thinking. I apologize to the Denver Nuggets. I apologize to Nikola Jokic.”
"I apologize to Nikola Jokić. I apologize to the Denver Nuggets"
🏀 @MarkJackson13 explains his mistake of leaving Nikola Jokić off his MVP ballot on NBA Radio@TermineRadio | @Jumpshot8 | @nuggets pic.twitter.com/wO7KZJN2mo
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) May 11, 2023
This was definitely a mistake from Mark Jackson, but ultimately, it didn’t make that much of a difference. Joel Embiid got the majority of first-place votes for the MVP, while Nikola Jokic came in second.
MVP or not, this was an elite regular season from Nikola Jokic. He has also elevated his play in the playoffs and is averaging 30.6 PPG, 13.1 RPG, and 9.5 APG for the Denver Nuggets.
Charles Barkley And Shaquille O’Neal Believe Nikola Jokic Has To Get To The Finals This Season
There’s no doubt that Nikola Jokic is one of the players with the most pressure to succeed in this season’s playoffs. In fact, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal previously claimed that Jokic has to at least make the Finals this season.
“It doesn’t matter matchups. They probably have to get to the Finals. You can’t win back-to-back MVPs and be in the conversation for the third one and don’t get to the Finals. When you’re the MVP… He’s won two! He [Nikola Jokic] has to get to the Finals!”
It is clear that this season, Nikola Jokic has a realistic chance of getting to the NBA Finals. His squad is healthy and clearly has enough talent to go through a weaker Western Conference. We will see what happens in the future, but this is the year Nikola Jokic can prove he is the best player in the world.
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