Bison Dele

Bison Dele (/ˈbaɪsən ˈdɛli/ BYE-sən DEL-ee; born Brian Carson Williams; April 6, 1969 – disappeared July 7, 2002) was an American professional basketball player who played center for the NBA's Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons.

Dele played college basketball for the Maryland Terrapins from 1987–1988 and for the Arizona Wildcats from 1988–1991 before being selected by the Magic with the 10th overall pick in the 1991 NBA draft.

[3] Patricia Phillips remarried and raised her two sons in Fresno until that marriage ended when Brian was in junior high.

In 1998, he changed his name to Bison Dele to honor his Native American (Cherokee)[4] and African ancestry, and played his final season under that name.

He had been the Pistons' highest-paid player, but had strained relationships with the organization and decided to walk away from the remaining five years and US$36.45 million on his contract rather than be traded.

[11] 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.

After his retirement he spent long periods traveling to Lebanon, the Mediterranean, and the Australian outback before learning to sail and purchasing a catamaran.

[4] He was joined by his girlfriend, Serena Karlan, his brother, Miles Dabord (born Kevin Williams), and skipper Bertrand Saldo.

In his account of events, Dabord said he and his brother had fought, and that Karlan had been accidentally hit and died when her head struck part of the boat.

When Saldo wanted to report her death, a panicked Dele killed him; Dabord then shot his brother in self-defense, threw the bodies overboard and subsequently fled back to the U.S.[4] Special Agent John Steiner, the FBI supervisor on the case, related that the forensic team examining the boat had not found any evidence to support Dabord's story and that "There's just no way it could have happened like that.