CJ McCollum Elected President of Players Union
CJ McCollum has been elected to succeed Chris Paul as president of the National Basketball Players Association, the union announced on Saturday. Voting for the NBPA's new leadership took place Saturday at a meeting of team representatives.
McCollum will immediately begin serving his four-year term as head of the union.
Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams, entering just his third season in the league, was voted as McCollum's vice president.
News of McCollum's election was first reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. NBA journalist Marc Stein had previously reported on Saturday that McCollum was a likely successor to Paul if the Phoenix Suns superstar, elected NBPA president in 2013, decided not to seek a third term.
McCollum, 29, was initially elected to the NBPA executive committee as a vice president in 2018. He and fellow VP Garrett Temple, as well as union secretary-treasurer Harrison Barnes, were re-elected to their positions last March. First vice president Andre Iguodala and VPs Bismack Biyombo, Malcolm Brogdon, Jaylen Brown and Kyrie Irving also sit on the executive committee.
McCollum's most pressing order of business will be continuing the union's search for a successor to revered NBPA executive director Michele Roberts, who's on the verge of retirement after a seven-year tenure as the players' top representative. Roberts and the NBPA announced the search for her replacement in February 2020, weeks before the coronavirus pandemic suspended play of the 2019-20 season.
Also at the top of McCollum's agenda are negotiations with the NBA and its owners about the collective bargaining agreement. Both sides possess an opt-out clause in the current CBA that if exercised would end deal after the 2022-23 season. Otherwise, the existing agreement, which took effect in July 2017, will expire following the 2023-24 campaign.