When the story of Michael Jordan is being discussed by any NBA fanatic, his teammates are always involved as one of the primary reasons for his success. It has been well-documented that Jordan's Finals appearances and championships started to accumulate when he was surrounded by talented and determined teammates.
The famous teammates of Jordan revolved around the likes of Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and Steve Kerr, but there was one crucial guy in their 1997 championship run who does not receive any limelight or attention from the NBA world. One who faded away from the NBA eye for reasons other than basketball.
His name is Bison Dele, and he was a 1991 lottery pick by the Orlando Magic who had a bright future ahead in the NBA.
Bison Dele: Michael Jordan's teammate who disappeared
When he was initially playing in the league, he went by the name Brian Williams until 1998 when he changed his name to Bison Dele because of his Native American and African ancestry.
As a successful basketball player, people must know that Dele's first passion was music, such as playing instruments like the violin and trumpet. However, with his frame and stature, Dele was convinced to play basketball and maximize his size on the paint. He dominated in college by averaging a double-double in every game, highlighted by a whopping 9.1 blocks in his senior season.
There have been cliches like “Ball is life” or “Ball till I fall”, but that does not apply at all to Bison Dele. Even in the sporting world, track and field was his passion and not basketball. Dele was practically forced into the sport, and that earned him a scholarship in Arizona. He was able to play for a couple of years which piqued the interest of NBA organizations and put him in discussions as one of the top picks in his class.
Playing for two seasons with the Orlando Magic was Dele's first destination, but his career was very rocky already from the beginning. Due to off-court family issues, he was helping his brother with his depression issues, which he eventually experienced as well. There were reports of Bison Dele passing out in practice guarding Shaquille O'Neal and crashing his car on a telephone post, which could have been on purpose.
Even before mental health was a serious topic of discussion, it seemed that Bison Dele and his brother Miles Dabord were experiencing this illness already. Dele was removed from the Magic's active roster because of the numerous incidents, and he moved to the Denver Nuggets. That did not last as well as he moved to the Los Angeles Clippers in 1995-96, wherein he showcased his wares and averaged 15.8 PPG.
Bison Dele had contract issues with the Clippers and moved to the Chicago Bulls, wherein he contributed incredibly in crucial playoff contests. In the 1997 NBA Finals, he scored 16 markers in one game, which proves that he had the talent to have a lasting career in the NBA. However, he retired at the age of 30 in the middle of his enormous contract with the Detroit Pistons.
It was ironic for him to throw $36 million out of the window as that was the guaranteed money he would have received if he did not retire. Bison Dele decided to pursue his passion for music, traveling, and earning a pilot's license. Dele seemed like an individual who had a plethora of dreams in his life, but that tragically ended on July 7, 2002.
The true reason for his passing will never be known to anyone he embarked on his final trip to Tahiti with his brother, girlfriend, and skipper. Surprisingly, Miles Dabord was on board for the ride, and the only person found on Dele's boast had the features of Dabord when it was found by authorities on July 16, 2002. It became more and more obvious that Dabord was the suspect in his killing as he was questioned on his gigantic purchase of gold which, he shared that was instructed by his brother Dele.
The authorities could not prove the statement of Miles Dabord because Dele passed away already, so he was released. The next instance for authorities to tackle the situation was when Dabord's girlfriend shared her knowledge of the situation on how Dabord killed Dele because of self-defense. It was a little too late for the authorities to arrive in Mexico because they found Dabord unconscious on a beach in Tijuana.
Miles Dabord purposely overdosed on insulin which caused his death, so no one will ever know the true story of the intriguing story of Bison Dele. The best learning lesson from this is how the ongoing and current mental health sickness of both Dabord and Dele may have contributed to their death immensely, including the passing away of the skipper and Dele's girlfriend.
It was reported that this all started because of an intense argument on the boat between Dabord and Dele, as Bison's girlfriend tried to break it up, but she fell and hit herself on the boat which caused her death. Thus, it shows that mental health issues are serious and must be treated with the proper medications and processes. If there were studies and initiatives of treating both Dabord and Dele, the death of these four lovable individuals could have been avoided at such a young age.
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