Kings beam, explained: The Origins of ‘light the beam’ chant, celebration & team rallying cry

Gilbert McGregor

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Kings beam, explained: The Origins of ‘light the beam’ chant, celebration & team rallying cry image

As the Kings were on the verge of earning a road victory over the Lakers on Jan. 19, the roar of a three-word chant began to spread throughout the arena. While it wasn't immediately clear what was being said, it was clear that it was coming from the Sacramento fans that had taken over Crypto.com Arena.

"Light the beam!" exclaimed Kings fans, who were employing the phrase that has become the franchise's rallying cry this season.

The 2022-23 season has been a magical one for the Kings, who, on March 31, ended a 16-year playoff drought with a road victory over the Trail Blazers. And just like that night in LA, chants of "Light the beam!" took over the Moda Center as Sacramento did away with nearly two decades of misfortune.

So, where did "Light the beam!" originate? Here's how the introduction of a postgame tradition took a life of its own, causing many to even refer to the Kings as "The Beam Team."

The origins of Kings' "Light the beam" rallying cry

The beam itself was first introduced before the season began.

On Sept. 16, the Kings celebrated "916 Day," an ode to Sacramento's area code, by illuminating the beam. The beam itself is powered by four purple lasers that sit atop the entrance of the Golden 1 Center, the Kings home arena. Because of its placement, the beam illuminates Sacramento's skyline when lit.

After an 0-4 start to the season, the Kings earned their first victory on Oct. 29, which is when the team officially began the tradition of lighting the beam after every home and away victory.

It didn't take very long for the new tradition to catch on. As players embraced the beam, so did fans inside and outside of Sacramento.

And after home wins, the team designates a player to do the honor of pressing the button that lights the beam from the scorer's table.

 The Kings have even called upon a Grammy Award-winning artist from Queens, N.Y. to do the honors.

As for the beam itself, it's hard to miss. The lasers emanate 1,000 watts of RGB laser power, which according to NBC Sports Bay Area, equates to the brightest full-color laser equipment in the world.

Kings Victory Beam 11232022
(@SacramentoKings Twitter)

The beam stays on until midnight PT after every Kings' victory, and the franchise had to receive approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to use it.

Why do the Kings have a victory beam?

The beam was introduced after Kings co-owner and chairman Vivek Ranadivé expressed a desire to build engagement and culture among the fanbase by giving them something to look forward to after wins.

As explained by the franchise, the Kings' victory beam draws inspiration from MLB's Los Angeles Angels, who activate a halo following victories.

“We toyed with different ideas,” Randivé told NBC Sports California. “Do we light up the Capitol building? Do we light up [Tower Bridge]? What do we do? But we really wanted it emanating from our building.

The introduction coinciding with one of the franchise's most successful seasons in decades would suggest that it is here to stay.

Gilbert McGregor

Gilbert McGregor Photo

Gilbert McGregor first joined The Sporting News in 2018 as a content producer for Global editions of NBA.com. Before covering the game, McGregor played basketball collegiately at Wake Forest, graduating with a Communication degree in 2016. McGregor began covering the NBA during the 2017-18 season and has been on hand for a number of league events.