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The Suns did not invent the Lion King Cam, nor did the Nuggets, whose use of the feature gained attention last April. In fact, it dates back to at least 2014, and it might have been the Utah Jazz who used it first.
Jazz unveil new crowd cam featuring Lion King highlights and parents holding their babies up in the air a la Simba. Perfect.
— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) April 1, 2014
That’s the earliest tweet I can find in reference to a Lion King Cam. Since then, teams of every different type of professional sports — yes, including the Detroit Lions — have used it. But the Suns this weekend, like the Nuggets last season, were participating in best timeout entertainment going.
The Phoenix Suns unveiled their 'Lion King Cam' in today's game pic.twitter.com/bZMb6tRJS4
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 31, 2016
The kiss cam is awkward and uncomfortable. Throwing t-shirts is fine, but not enough to fill up every break in the action. That’s where the Lion King Cam comes in, and it’s a universal smash hit.
The Phoenix Suns doing a Lion King Cam where people raise their babies in the air like Simba is the greatest thing to happen in the NBA ever
— Starboy (@TheLifeOfBrack) October 31, 2016
The Suns with their Lion King Cam has to be the best thing ever
— Allison Michelle (@Allisuunnyy) October 31, 2016
I was there for this and honestly it was pretty cute. Lion King cam > kiss cam any day. https://t.co/usxA05SWLM
— Rachel (@_hellostarling) October 31, 2016
The @Lions' "Lion King Cam" is the greatest thing I've ever seen.
— Amber Harding (@TheAmberHarding) September 18, 2016
I do really love the Lion King cam at The K.
— Jennifer Splittorff (@jensplit) July 10, 2016
We do have one counterargument to the Lion King Cam below.
This Lion King Cam is gonna be great until someone drops their baby in the rush to get on camera
— Jen (@NHLhistorygirl) October 16, 2016
While it’s possible, I tend to think that criticism is overblown. And how can you really be mad at something that gives us moments like this?
They are doing the lion king baby cam at the Jazz Clippers game, and somebody lifted their 8 year old son and he dabbed so many times.
— Matthew Hollister (@keystonematthew) October 18, 2016