CJ McCollum

Christian James McCollum is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his third year in the league in 2015–16, he was named the NBA Most Improved Player. McCollum played college basketball for the Lehigh Mountain Hawks and was named the Patriot League Player of the Year in both 2010 and 2012. He was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the tenth overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft. A reserve in his first two years, he became a full-time starter for the Trail Blazers in his third season after making the decision to move to shooting guard as the Blazers lost LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum, and Robin Lopez in free agency following the end of the 2014–15 season. On August 7, 2021, he was elected president of the National Basketball Players Association, replacing Chris Paul. In 2022, McCollum was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, ending his nine-year run with the Blazers.