Don't know why I'm entertaining this thread but whatever here goes
As i've stated before Kobe Bryant is a another really good high volume guy with the fortune of playing under the best coach in league history with one of the top 3 centers in league history for the majority of his career. Does that make him overrated?
To a degree, not fully though. There is no doubt that playing with a prime shaq, a prime gasol, and under PJ has played a huge role in his status amongst the NBA elite. That is not up for discussion. So from that perspective, maybe he is a little overrated because he is a high volume guy and it can definitely be argued that you could replace other really good high volume guys and maybe get the same results as Kobe did. (I know, same old argument but it's unavoidable when you're talking about whether or not bean is overrated)
However, at the same time Kobe could have just been a role player on those teams and been a 15 ppg player in the league. You have to be an extremely talented basketball player (EXTREMELY) to be able to do some of the stuff he's accomplished in the NBA. 30k points,81 points in a game, 62 in 3 quarters, countless shots in the clutch, multiple runs of 40 and 50 point games in a row, that isn't overrated, that can't be. No matter what way you cut it, that isn't overrated. That's greatness. His skill, if anything is underrated. VERY FEW in the history of the L can replicate what Kobe has done and is continuing to do in his career.
So as a basketball player is he overrated? **** no. He's a phenomenal talent who has maximized his potential as a basketball player fully. He has good size, but everything else imo was acquired. He was never the most athletic, the quickest, jumped the highest, etc. especially when you compare him to his peers of his time. (This is not to say that he was a slouch in those departments, it's just saying that his natural gifts were not nearly as evident in comparison to those guys)
His fortune is imo what makes him Overrated/Underrated because they sort of skew his place in NBA history. To have the fortune to play under phil, with a prime shaq, a prime gasol, a prime dwight, steve nash, etc. have to account for something in regards to his lustrous legacy.