New Name, New Numbers Have Special Meaning For Detroit's Bison Dele And L.A.'s Dennis Rodman

Jet, March 22, 1999

What's in a name? Well, for Detroit Pistons star Bison Dele, formerly known to NBA fans as Brian Williams, in his name is his heritage.

Dele, who currently is a center/ forward for the Pistons, traced his genealogy to find out about his heritage.

"It's a spiritual thing," Dele told Lacy J. Banks in the Chicago Sun Times. "`Dele' is just the original name that predates `Williams.' It goes 1,300 years to present-day Nigeria of the Yoruba tribe, and `Bison' is from my western Cherokee family that came to Oklahoma from the Carolinas. So it's just my family history and that goes back a few hundred years."

Once he found out his history, Dele said he was moved to change his name.

"Once you arrive at that, it's just part of finding out the greater picture," he said. "It's more of a spiritual journey because you're trying to understand the effects of time over your path and your family's path. That's all it is. And in that sense, you get historical perspective."

And while Dele made a meaningful name change, the ever-changing NBA rebounding king, Dennis Rodman, chose his jersey number for a special reason.

When Rodman finally decided that he would play in the NBA for this shortened season and do it with the Los Angeles Lakers, he could not wear No. 91, which he wore for three-straight seasons in Chicago.

So the "Worm," who has brought more experience and stability to the Lakers and helped the team on a five-game winning streak, chose No. 73.

There are three reasons for that number. Seven is the number of rebounding titles Rodman has won in a row. Three represents the three-straight NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls. And finally, 73 backwards is 37, Rodman's age.