Bison Dele is not just known for being the greatest NBA player of all time but his mysterious death and disappearances are another part he is known for. The famous basketball player who has won many championships during his professional career is regarded as one of the highest-paid and most successful NBA players.

Though his sudden retirement was a great shock for all and later his mysterious disappearances. So what was Bison Dele’s cause of death? Let’s unfold the mystery surrounding Bison Dele.

What Happened to Bison Dele?

The basketball champion from the 1990s was formerly known by his birth name Brian Williams, born in California on 6th April 1969 to an African American and Cherokee descent. Brian changed his birth name to Bison Dele just before his retirement, to honor his mother’s side of a Native American and African family.

Dele from a young age was very active in sports and was athletic, he started joining various sports clubs in his junior high, he was a runner in track and field till his junior high then as a high schooler he joined the basketball club and continued the sport till his university life. During the various minor competitions between universities, he was noticed by the team Orlando Magic and he played for them from 1991 to 1993, then he moved to Denver Nuggets for whom he played for two years from 1993 to 1995.

Then he played for the Los Angeles Clippers for one year, then in the Chicago Bulls, he played an important role as a backup player for the 9th game of the 1997 session, and this is where he earned a major title of NBA Champion and he started getting more recognition after this game.

He then signed with the Detroit Pistons for two sessions from 1997 to 1999 and it was his last career as a professional basketball player, then after the contract, he retired from the NBA at the age of 30.

Dele liked sport and loved playing but he was never much satisfied with his pro basketball career so he wanted to try something other than being a pro player which led to his decision to retire. Dele always had a zeal for discovering new places and enjoyed adventure traveling, so he decided to travel to different locations worldwide after his retirement and he did.

Bison Dele’s Death or Missing

Bison Dele learned how to sail to take a voyage around the seven seas and hence he bought a catamaran. During his voyage in the Pacific, he was with his girlfriend Serena Karlan, his brother Miles Dabord, and skipper Bertrand Saldo as they started sailing from Tahiti on 6th July 2002. During the voyage, both Dele and Serena kept in contact with their families but they couldn’t be heard since the 8th of July and it was only Dabord who was seen and heard.

Then months later Dele’s catamaran was found on the coast of Tahiti, with bullet holes patched and its nameplate removed which led to a sting operation conducted on 5 September 2002 to detain Dabord. He was found living as Dele in disguise and Dabord was using his brother’s passport and his money by forging his signature.

As Dabord became the prime suspect in the incident he intentionally overdosed on insulin and was taken to the hospital but went into a coma and he died on September 27, 2002, in California. According to Dabord’s account of the incident, he said that he and Dele had a fight during the voyage and Karlan was trying to stop them and by accident struck her head hard on the part of the boat and died.

To this Saldo wanted to report her death, to which he said Dele agitated and killed him, and then he shot Dele in self-defense and dumped their bodies overboard, and flew back to the US.

As the only person to tell the whole truth was dead there was nothing more the investigators expected to find and regarding Dabord’s statement everyone was sure that he murdered Dele 33, his girlfriend, and the skipper boarding the catamaran and dumped them deep into the Pacific sea, which means it’s impossible to find the dead bodies.

Till now, the bodies of the murdered three people are still missing and never found and they are still regarded as missing in their current status as their bodies have never been discovered.

Wrap Up

This is how the famous NBA player had a tragic death and regarding the whole incident, there is a documentary made on the basis of the murder incident called Dark Waters: Murder in The Deep.

The documentary is included in the second season, episode 2 of the 2019 series of Dark Waters, and Dele is played by Jeremy Miller. The story begins with Dele’s retirement and his pursuit of the true meaning of life and how during the joyful adventure, he mysteriously disappeared without any trace.