With a 120-80 win Wednesday, the Sacramento Kings officially punched their ticket for the 2023 NBA playoffs. That’s right: After 16 long years, the longest playoff drought the NBA has ever seen is now officially over. Light the friggin’ beam.
It took a few extra days, but the Kings got an emphatic win over the depleted Portland Trail Blazers to control their own postseason destiny. "Light the beam" chants broke out at the end of the game ... in Portland.
The Kings become just the third team in the Western Conference to clinch a playoff berth, joining the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies.