303 League: Denver’s Top Pro-Am League Is a Must Watch
The 3rd annual 303 League is underway featuring Denver's best hoopers. Read more about how WNBA Champion Shae Kelley built the league, the future of the league, and why you should pop out and support:
Community, family, food, and hoops. What more could you want? The third annual 303 Pro-Am League exemplifies all of that, plus more.
Built from the ground up with the support of Denver basketball legend Chauncey Billups, WNBA Champion and Denver East standout Shae Kelley has created Denver’s largest and most popular Pro-Am league in just a few years.
“I just started making phone calls when I was playing overseas,” Kelley said when asked about how the league was formed. “Chauncey is kind of like my big brother, and he was my first call. I was like ‘hey I’m thinking about creating this, would you support it?’ And he was like ‘absolutely, let me know what you need.’ That’s how I just started doing it.”
Founder Shae Kelley in attendance at the league she created. (Photo by: Clifton Agbortabi)
Starting out with 10 teams and cheap penny jerseys in 2022, the league has expanded to 16 teams and now has clean, stylish jerseys with sponsorship patches. Aaron Gordon, Derrick White, and Monte Morris have all made appearances in the 303. The players are talented, and the competition is fierce.
Kelley’s pitch to players considering joining the league is simple: There’s nowhere else in Denver that provides this level of organized competition basketball during the summer months.
“Some of these guys don’t have anything competitive to play in where they can show their skills,” Kelley said. “This [league] can get them in the door with overseas teams or somebody else, so that’s huge for these guys.
“And for the guys that are retired, where else can they go to get competitive basketball under a whistle? It’s a good atmosphere with other professional guys playing on the court,” Kelley said.
The season tipped off on June 2nd, and a matchup between Team STOMP and Team Servant Kings on June 5th brought great energy and multiple highlight plays.
Adam Thistlewood, a former four-year player at Colorado State and player of the game for Team STOMP, dropped 20 points, made three three-pointers, and capped off his performance with a mean lefty posterizing dunk.
“I love competing every night, and I have a lot of fun,” Thistlewood said postgame. “It’s just a good environment, super fun to play and it’s a good time.”
Wofford Terriers Hall of Famer and point guard for team STOMP, Eric Garcia, described the competition as “great.”
“To see guys that you haven’t seen in a while because they went to play in college or overseas is fun,” Garcia said. “You play against good guys and everyone's competing for something.”
Every team plays every other team once, and the top 10 advance to the playoffs starting in July. The tournament MVP wins a special trophy dedicated to the late Denver basketball legend Sean Love, who passed away in 2021.
“[Sean] was a neighborhood legend,” Kelley recalls. “If you are in Park Hill or around the city and inner-city, you know who Sean Love is. Everybody wanted to beat him in 7s, our shooting game. He was always an upbeat, fun-loving guy…we just dedicate the MVP trophy to him because he meant so much to so many of us growing up.”
Timeout break at the 303 League. (Photo by: Clifton Agbortabi)
As for the future of the league, it’s bright. Thistlewood has only played a couple games in the 303, but can sense that the league will take off in the coming years.
“This will be like, a massive league,” he said. “The talent pool is tremendous, they’re getting more and more people to play, it’s just terrific to see.”
Kelley also has extremely high hopes for the future of the 303 League: “I want this to be a long-lasting thing...I want this to be like the Drew League where we’re celebrating our 50th anniversary. I want this to be something that the community has that’s stable, and that they know will be going on every summer. I envision a packed-out crowd and big-time sponsors like Nike or Adidas supporting us.”
Partnering with STOMP Athletics is a great start. STOMP is an innovative traction company that makes it easy to clean off the bottom of your basketball shoes before checking into the game, and they’ll be in NBA arenas soon.
Community and basketball go hand-in-hand unlike any other sport in the world. Kelley is hoping to form a true community surrounding Denver basketball and the league, and once that happens, there is no limit on how large it can get.
“I want to bring the city together,” she said. “I want to bring food and clothes vendors, I want it to be more than just basketball…and it can also be a place to network and meet new people. Keeping it in the inner-city, and getting kids off the streets in the summer and giving them something constructive and positive to do is important.”
If you are a basketball fan in Colorado, or someone looking to support a great Denver event put on by great Denver people, Kelley has a final message for you:
”Show up to games! Come support, follow our Instagram, share everything that you see…just help us grow.”
Most games are played at Manual High School, and with the level of basketball being played, you’ll be in for a great night of hoops, food, and vibes. For the full schedule, click below:
