Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul elected as NBA Players Association President

The NBA Player's Association has announced that the Los Angeles Clippers' point guard Chris Paul has been elected as their new NBPA President, supplanting the Thunder's Derek Fisher, whose term expired during the summer. Chris Paul is joined by Roger Mason Jr., who was named the First Vice President, while Steve Blake and Anthony Tolliver have been named as the executive committee vice presidents.

Congratulations to #thenbpa newest elected President @CP3!!! #nbpa2013

— NBPA (@TheNBPA) August 22, 2013

Prior to Paul's selection, LeBron James had put his hat into the ring as a possibility, but later removed his candidacy due to his schedule demands. With Paul sliding into the position, the players probably got the best possible player available to lead them. While Paul does not have LeBron's public profile, he is every bit as respected by the rest of the players in the league. He is intelligent, team-driven, and is not shy about picking a fight on his players' behalf.

Paul replaces Fisher, who had a controversial stint as President. Elected in 2006, Fisher played a critical role in the 2011 lockout, working directly with the union's executive director Billy Hunter. During that stretch of several months, Fisher's loyalty and priorities were called into question on several occasions. At one point Hunter called for the players to vote Fisher out as President, and Fisher responded by calling for an outside investigation of Hunter and the union. Various accusations of union financial commingling and nepotism abounded, and Hunter was eventually removed from his position while Fisher was re-elected as President.

Politics, ya'll.