Brian Williams was a promising young big-man in the NBA before his untimely death that took place in 2002. Williams, who went by the name of Bison Dele later on his career after having legally changed it, had quite the bizarre few years in the public eye before mysteriously vanishing and then having it be revealed that he died at sea.
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Born in California, Williams showcased quite the affinity towards basketball from an early age. As a junior in high school, he averaged 17+ points per game, grabbed nearly 13 rebounds, and blocked an unfathomable 9 shots a game. He would go on to play for both Maryland and Arizonia before being selected 10th overall by the Orlando Magic in 1991.
The Magic were a team that had just formed a couple years back and so they had a plethora of high draft picks. Despite being a lottery pick for a lottery team, Williams didn’t get as much playing time as he would’ve liked, averaging 18.9 minutes and 11.4 minutes per game in his rookie and sophomore years, respectively.
Also read: Which Bulls Player Did Juanita Vanoy Date Before Marrying Michael Jordan?
Brian Williams and his NBA career after the Magic
After two lackluster seasons with the Denver Nuggets and 4 mediocre ones in total to start off his NBA career in terms of pure stats, he would find his place in the league on the Los Angeles Clippers roster. The 1995-96 Clips roster won less than 30 games but they had a bright spot in 26-year-old Brian Williams.
He averaged 15+ points per game on 54.3% shooting from the field that season and established himself as a solid rotation big-man in the NBA. After a splendid season with the Clippers, Brian wanted to capitalize on his newfound success and asked them for a contract that no team across the league was willing to pay.
The Chicago Bulls, towards the end of the 1996-97 season, would pick him up and he would play 9 games for them in the regular season. His play eventually led to him gaining Playoffs minutes, resulting in a championship win alongside Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.
After his one-and-done stint with the Bulls, Brian Williams found himself in the best situation possible: the Detroit Pistons. Of the 127 games he played in Detroit, he started 126 of them and averaged 16.2 points per game and 8.9 rebounds a night in his first season as a Piston.
His play was so impressive for Detroit that they granted him his wish by giving him a contract worth over $33 million. However, after that first season with Detroit, things changed for Williams.
Brian Williams changes his name and leaves the NBA
Brian Williams, to pay homage to his ancestors, changed his name to Bison Dele in his final season in the NBA. His play suffered drastically from several off-court factors, with the biggest being his strained relationship with Pistons players, coaching staff, and the front office.
His points per game average dropped to 10.2 ppg that season and he would go on to quit the NBA. He was so adamant on leaving behind the professional basketball life that he created for himself that he even returned the money he was given as a part of his contract with the Pistons.
At age 30 Brian Williams aka, Bison Dele, was out of the league after having the best season of his career the year prior.
Brian Williams death
Bison Dele left not just the NBA, but the spotlight altogether. He would keep to himself for a couple years until news broke of his disappearance and subsequent death in July of 2002.
On July 6th, 2002, Bison Dele, his girlfriend, Serena Karlan, the skipper, Bertrand Saldo, and Dele’s brother, Miles Dabord set out on their boat, the Hakuna Matata. After July 8th, only Miles would be making calls via satellite, which was odd considering that both Serena and Bison were in regular touch with family members prior.
On July 20th, only Dabord was found alone on the vessel in Tahiti. In a recount of events by Dabord, he claimed Seena hit her head on a part of the boat and died, leading to Saldo wanting to report the death. In a moment of panic, Bison shot Saldo, killing him. As a way to defend himself, Dabord shot his own brother.
It’s unclear whether Miles is telling the truth but we will never know considering the fact that he slipped into a self-induced coma on September 27th, 2002 from an overdose of insulin, which eventually led to his death.
