Reality,
Athlete: One who is able-bodied, acrobatic, agonistic, energetic, gymnastic, pancratic, robust, stalwart, strong, vigorous, and vital. A physical freak of nature.
Did you notice how it didn't say skillful, smart, intelligent, patient, etc.
. . . and you know what. I believe Phil Jackson. Its not hard for me to believe Dennis Rodman is the greatest athlete (not basketball player) he ever coached. It was said that Dennis Rodman would go into the locker room to sprint/spin on the exercise bike as hard as he could in between minutes on the court. And that was at the age of 38. From a purely physical standpoint, Rodman was a FREAK ATHLETE.
On the basketball IQ level, he wasn't missing much either.