Bison Dele: Who Is He? His Life And Unknown Details About His Death

• Bison Dele was drafted by Orlando Magic in 1991 as a professional baseball player and retired at 30
• He died mysteriously at the age of 33 and his brother has been a suspect
• His body has still not been recovered 22 years after his reported death

Brian Dele adopted the pseudonym Bison Dele – a name that he became famous with as an American professional player. He was drafted in 1991 and only 8 years later in 1999 at 30, he retired after playing for Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago Bulls, and Detroit Pistons.

After a career that led to his becoming a 1999 NBA champion, 1991 First-team All -Pac-10 and 1987 Third-team Parade All-American, his life became a mystery when he went missing and later reportedly died in 2002 without a trace of his body, who his killer was, or why he was killed.

The Life Before Fame of Bison Dele and Why He Changed His Name

On April 6th, 1969 in Fresno, California, the former basketballer was born Brian Carson Williams. His father was a singer, Eugene “Geno” Williams while his mother was Patricia Philips.

He was a second child with an older brother named Miles Dabord. He grew up alongside his brother with their mother who divorced his father while he was in junior high.

At the age of 29 in 1998, Bison changed his name from Brian Williams to Bison Dele as a mark of honor to the largest tribe in the US, Cherokee, and his African ancestry. The name Dele is said to have its roots in a Nigerian Language, Yoruba which means “come home”.

The Fresno, California-Born Former Basketball Player Started His Career in High School

At an early age, Dele started out as an athlete fixing more interest in track and field before heading towards basketball.

For his education, Dele went to Saint Monica Catholic school in California where he played basketball and reportedly made a difference which resulted in the retiring of his jersey.

He would later transfer to Bishop Gorman, Las Vegas, Nevada where he continued to pursue his dreams as a basketball player where he again, drew so much attention to himself with his talent in basketball.

After his high school education, Bison moved to the University of Maryland, started his collegiate career.

Bison attended the University of Maryland before he transferred to the University of Arizona. He played there for a year before heading to the University of Arizona to continue with his collegiate career.

He Played Professional Basketball For Only 8 Years

Following a 1991 NBA draft in the 1st round and was picked 10th overall, Bison played a number of seasons starting from Orlando Magic.

He later played 2 seasons from 1993 to 1995 with Denver Nuggets. At the time, he played a career-high 80 games and averaged 8.0 points per game. He also played for Los Angeles Clippers (1995-1996), Chicago Bulls (1997), and Detroit Pistons (1997 to 1999).

He retired in 1999 at 30 but was said to have a strained relationship with the management of the Pistons despite being their highest-paid player at the time. The strained relationship aided his decision to walk away from his remaining five years and $36.45 million of his contract.

Also, there are suggestions that he may not have loved the game from the beginning and it was easy to walk away after making an income that he felt could last him a while.

How He Disappeared With 2 Others 

The disappearance of Bison Dele remains an unsolved one. The story of how he vanished started on July 6, 2002, when the former NBA star, his girlfriend, Serena Karlan; a skipper, Bertrand Salso went on a voyage from Tahiti on Dele’s catamaran, the Hakuna Matata. They went alongside Dele’s older and only brother Miles Dabord – born Kevin Williams and also known as Miles Dele.

The last time Dele and the others contacted anyone was on July 8, 2002. On July 20, Dele’s brother Dabord returned with the boat into Tahiti. This raised questions but no arrest was made until September 5, 2002, with Dabord as a suspect.

The story became even more complicated when Dabord forged Dele’s signature to buy $152,000 worth of gold in his brother’s name and afterward, the authority discovered that Dabord kept himself away from home and would rather stay in a hotel in Tijuana, Mexico.

Another twist and interesting part of the story was when the Hakuna Matata was found off the coast and registered in an entirely different name while its plates were removed, To compound the matter, traces of bullet holes were evident on the watercraft.

Prior to that, there was another report that Daport called their mother, Patricia to affirm her that he could not harm his brother and he could not also survive in prison.

In order to unravel the mystery that came with the disappearance of the once upon a time versatile and admired basketballer, the FBI and French authorities delved in. They later crowned that the 3 unseen people were probably killed and their bodies were deposited in the Pacific Ocean, hence may never be found.

He is Not The Only Former Basketball Player To Die Mysteriously

The mysterious death of Bison Dele is not the only mystery in basketball. In 2005, a similar case came alive following the gruesome death of former Chaminade University basketball player, Mark Wells. He was shot multiple times and even decades afterward, his killer has not been found.

In a similar light, another former basketball player Lorenzen Wright was killed in 2010 a year after his retirement. It became one of Memphis’ most high-profile unsolved cases. However, the difference between Wright and Dele is that Wright’s killers were brought to justice.

His ex-wife, Sherra Wright Robinson was arrested 7 years after his death and received 30 years sentence to prison in 2019 for the facilitation of first-degree murder. In 2022, Billy Ray Turner was found guilty of the murder of Wright and sentenced to life in prison.

Has Any Arrest Been Made After Bison Dele Vanished?

Dele’s Brother Dabord was the only known person to have close contact with the center position former basketball player before he disappeared. Dabord knew that it was probably a matter of time before there would be more digging into what actually transpired. He allegedly deliberately had an overdose of insulin that took him to a coma.

On September 27, 2002, he died in a California hospital. Prior to the events, Bison and his brother reportedly had different scores to settle.

Also, Miles Dabord gave an account that he and Dele had fought and Serena Karlan accidentally lost her life after a hit. Dele purportedly flinched when Saldo wanted to make reports. Dabord claimed to have shot his brother afterward in self-defense.

Subsequent to the death of Miles, his lawyer, and best friend Paul White could not help with any reasonable information as regards what may have happened.

See Also: Kyle Hill: Interesting Things To Know About The Former Basketball Star

He Was Worth Over $10 Million at the Time of his Death

Many sources claim Bison had a net worth of over $10 million at the time of his death. What is certain is the fact that he was well off and he showed in the life he lived.

Bison made his net worth from his career as a professional basketball. After his retirement, he started going on adventure trips. His love of adventure led him to get a pilot’s license. He bought Hakuna Matata to sail the Seven seas and navigate other spots.

Quick Facts About Bison Dele

• He was said to have dated singer Madonna at a time
• Dele was good with music and could play saxophone, violin, and trumpet
• The former NBA player allegedly bought a catamaran to sail the 7 seas
• Bison Dele was 6 feet 11 inches tall
• He played the center position  and wore the numbers 8 and 18
• The California-born who mysteriously vanished played the 1987 FIBA U19 World Championship for America’s team

Complete profile of Bison Dele