After scoring an NBA season-high 48 points on 18 of 31 shooting in the Lakers' 99-83 victory Tuesday over the Phoenix Suns, Kobe Bryant asked a reporter to tell him to his face he can't consistently replicate such an effort through the rest of the Lakers' (7-4) 55-game season.

"Not bad for the seventh best player in the league," Bryant said in a shot at the ranking a panel of ESPN writers gave him this offseason.