Los Angeles Clippers star Chris Paul became the highest profile player in more than a decade to head the National Basketball Players Association, as he was elected president Wednesday after a two-day meeting in Las Vegas. Paul, a vice president on the union's executive board for the past four years, is the biggest star to lead the group since Patrick Ewing in 2001.
He begins his 18-month term replacing Derek Fisher, who had been president since 2006, with the NBPA in turmoil after 18 months of in-fighting, firings and lawsuits.
The move came as somewhat of a surprise as free agent Roger Mason had been the only candidate who announced publicly he intended to run for Fisher's position. Mason was elected as first vice president . "I've been thinking about (running) for a while on and off," said Paul, who earlier this summer re-signed with the Clippers on a five-year, $107 million deal. "I've had a lot of dialogue about it with committee members. I wouldn't have taken on the role if I was going to do it alone."
