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Bison Dele

1969 – 2002

American basketball player

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About Bison Dele

Lived 1969 – 2002 (aged 33). Bison Dele was an American basketball player.

Bison Dele ( ; born Brian Carson Williams; April 6, 1969 – disappeared July 7, 2002) was an American professional basketball player who played center for the Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Dele played college basketball for the Maryland Terrapins and the Arizona Wildcats before being selected by the Magic with the 10th overall pick in the 1991 NBA draft. He won a championship with the Bulls in 1997.

Dele is believed to have been murdered at sea by his older brother, Miles Dabord, in 2002. His girlfriend, Serena Karlan, and skipper Bertrand Saldo are also presumed to have been killed by Dabord, who later intentionally overdosed on insulin and died.

Early life and NCAA career Williams was born on Easter Sunday, April 6, 1969, in Fresno, California, the second son of Patricia Phillips and of singer Eugene "Geno" Williams Jr. of the musical group The Platters, who later divorced. Patricia Phillips remarried and raised her two sons in Fresno until that marriage ended when Brian was in junior high. He was of African-American descent.

As a junior in high school, he attended Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. He averaged 17.3 points, 12.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.5 steals and 9.1 blocks per game in his senior season, shooting 57.7% from the field. As a senior, he attended Saint Monica Catholic High School in Santa Monica, California, where his jersey is retired. He was a track and field runner, until a high school growth spurt pushed him towards basketball. It has also been theorized he had never been especially passionate about playing basketball and felt he had earned enough money to allow him to walk away from the professional game and lifestyle. He played the saxophone, violin and trumpet, enjoyed adventure travel, and earned a pilot's license. After his retirement he spent long periods traveling to Lebanon, the Mediterranean, and the Australian outback before learning to sail and purchasing a catamaran.

On September 6, 2002, police used a sting operation organized by Dele's family and friends to detain Dabord in Phoenix. Dabord had forged Dele's signature in order to open mailboxes in his name, and to buy US$152,000 worth of gold under his brother's name, using Dele's passport as identification. Mexican police later found that Dabord had been staying at a hotel in Tijuana, Mexico. Two days before, the Hukuna Matata, which had been registered in Tahiti under another name, was found off the coast of Tahiti with its name plate removed and some possible bullet holes patched. About the same time, Dabord phoned his mother, Patricia Phillips, telling her that he would never hurt Dele and that he could not survive in prison.

The FBI and French authorities became involved in the investigation, found that Dabord bought about $200 of weights and was suspected of using them to weigh down the bodies,

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Important facts

Birth century
Occupation
Nationality
Education
Saint Monica Catholic High School, University of Maryland, Bishop Gorman High School
Awards
List of All-Pac-12 Conference men's basketball teams; List of NBA champions; Parade All-America Boys Basketball Team

People in Bison Dele's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Bison Dele's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Bison Dele?

American basketball player (1969–2002)

When was Bison Dele born?

Bison Dele was born on 6 April 1969 in Fresno.

When did Bison Dele die?

Bison Dele died on 7 July 2002 in Tahiti.

What was Bison Dele's occupation?

Bison Dele was a basketball player.

What nationality was Bison Dele?

Bison Dele was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Bison Dele

· Wikidata: Q866619

· DBpedia: Bison Dele

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Bison Dele. https://biography.guide/bison-dele/

MLA: "Bison Dele." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/bison-dele/.

Chicago: "Bison Dele." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/bison-dele/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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