Deron Williams says it's amazing to see fellow class of 2005 draftee Chris Paul still crushing it at 36 years old ... telling TMZ Sports he's amazed by the guy's longevity, but admits he's a bit jealous.
"I'm a little jealous he's still out there shining," 37-year-old Williams said this week. "And, you know, it's fun to watch."
"He's a special player, one of the best to ever do it and he's defied time."
Of course, this is CP3's 16th season in the league -- he's played for 5 teams, including the Suns ... who he just led to the NBA Finals last season.
Williams applauds Paul's ability to succeed everywhere he goes.
"Seems like every team he goes to he makes them instantly better because there's nobody who predicted the Suns to be in the Finals last year," D-Will said.
"He was a huge part of that."
D-Will also admits that he misses the game since he last played for the Cavaliers in 2017 -- but an NBA comeback is not in his plans.
"To be out of the league for four years and just to go back on that, I'm smarter than that. I realized that ship has sailed so I have to let that go."
So, it looks like we won't see D-Will on the basketball court, but you will see him in the boxing ring on Dec. 18 -- fighting former NFL running back Frank Gore on the undercard for Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury.