LeBron James reacts to Chris Paul's retirement announcement

On Saturday, Chris Paul, the future Hall of Fame point guard who plays for the Los Angeles Clippers, let it be known that he will be retiring at the end of this season. This will be the end of the line for one of the better point guards the NBA has ever seen, and he has had a fantastic career, despite never winning an NBA championship.

The Clippers, despite being picked by many as something of a dark horse team before this season began, have gotten off to an ugly 5-11 start, and Paul's statistical production has almost hit rock bottom. But as recently as three calendar years ago, he was named to the NBA All-Star Game for the 12th time, and the year prior to that, he helped lead the Phoenix Suns to the NBA Finals.

LeBron James, one of Paul's closest friends, saluted the man they call the "point god" after the latter decided he would soon call it quits.

James and Paul make up one-half of the so-called "banana boat crew" that also includes Hall of Famers Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade. James and Wade, of course, won back-to-back NBA championships as members of the Miami Heat, and Anthony spent his final season alongside James on the Los Angeles Lakers. All four won an Olympic gold medal in 2008 as part of Team USA men's basketball.

Coming into Saturday, Paul had career averages of 16.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 9.2 assists and two steals per game. He led the league in assists per game five times and in steals per game on six occasions, and in his prime, he was known as a player with virtually no weaknesses, as well as a commanding leader.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: LeBron James reacts to Chris Paul's retirement announcement