Organist Dieter Ruehle took Kobe Bryant ‘Higher’

Dieter Ruehle is the organist for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Kings.

But he performed as the organist and DJ for the Los Angeles Lakers for 15 years as well. 2016 was his final year, as well as Kobe Bryant’s.

Ruehle looks back on that time, discussing the song he’d play specifically for Bryant when he hit a big shot. After Bryant’s basketball career, the two stayed in touch and even worked together on Bryant’s podcast, “The Punies.”

But it’s the song “Higher,” by the Game, that sticks with Ruehle. “To me, that song is an instant Kobe memory,” he says.