President Obama -- I Retired from Basketball ... Afraid of Getting Hurt (VIDEO)

First Kobe ... now Obama??

The President just announced he finally "hung it up" -- and will no longer play competitive basketball games.

54-year-old Obama revealed the move during a phone call with Cleveland Cavs coach Ty Lue -- saying he actually "hung it up about 2 years ago."

The reason? Fear of injury.

"You know, I had too many friends ... seen that achilles pop ... being in a boot for 6 months."

For years, Obama was a regular in pick up games -- and was praised for being a pretty good player. In fact, he once played in a game with LeBron, Dwyane Wade, Magic Johnson, D-Rose and Carmelo Anthony.

Now, it seems those days are over -- but there are reports B.O. wants to own an NBA team after he's done being the leader of the free world.