ESPN snubs Nikola Jokic again, because of course they do

Nikola Jokic apparently still needs to prove it because the 150 reporters, editors, producers and analysts that vote on ESPN’s annual player ranking did not put the Denver Nuggets big man as the best player in the game.

The top 10 of ESPN’s best 100 NBA player list came out on Thursday, completing the full ranking. Giannis Antetokounmpo was voted as the game’s best player followed by Jokic, Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic and Stephen Curry.

ESPN said of their 13th annual ranker, “the race for the top spot was one of the tightest in the history of NBArank, as the gap between Nos. 2 and 3 was nearly 16 times larger than the one between Nos. 1 and 2.” They later noted that Antetokounmpo edged Jokic by percentage points, and cited him losing the MVP at season’s end for not caring about it. Of course, that’s not what happened—Jokic’s Nuggets had such a firm grip on the west that he could rest up for the playoffs all the while ESPN’s commentators made race-related comments that Michael Malone said impacted Denver’s locker room.

For Jokic to be No. 1 on the list next year, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk wrote:

Hall of Fame point guard Isiah Thomas said Jokic has to be considered the best player on the planet after his championship tear, something Thomas said also puts Jokic in a “legendary category.” And he still has room for growth, as Nuggets coach Michael Malone said in camp. If he can improve his defense and perhaps be more aggressive with his 3-point shot — Jokic hit 46.1% of his 3s in the playoffs — Jokic could be collecting even more hardware, a second straight championship and finally the No. 1 spot in NBArank.

Jokic’s MVP snub cost him being the first player to threepeat as MVP since Larry Bird in the 1980s. Antetokounmpo finished third, also behind Embiid, who won it. Jokic got back at the two by winning in the NBA Finals and getting Finals MVP, whereas Antetokounmpo had an embarrassing first-round exit that has forced a Bucks mini-rebuild and Embiid left the playoffs early and his Hall of Fame coach got fired.

What could be a fun storyline developing in the NBA is not the rivalry of Jokic against Embiid, who he has clearly passed but rather Joker against Greek Freak in a 2020s version of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. The Serbian and Nigerian/Greek square off on the international stage, now each have two NBA MVPs, a Finals MVP and a ring, and are similar in age. The two couldn’t play the game more differently but each has an immense respect for another and plays a similar position.

The Nuggets and Bucks each won their conferences last year in the regular season and it was almost sad we got robbed of this matchup of the Finals. Many now is the time, with each considered near the top of the league entering this season.

What we will get no matter what in 2023-24 is some serious legacy-defining stuff between Jokic and Antetokounmpo as the two vie to become the player that defines the decade. According to ESPN, Antetokounmpo is in pole position to do so, but NBA GMs would disagree with that. Albeit, ESPN has spent the summer repenting for their prior Jokic hate.

***