If you’ve ever been to the Westlake Rec Center on a Thursday night between December and February, chances are you’ve caught even just a glimpse of a high school rec basketball game. The league consists of ten teams and is open to any high school-aged boy in Westlake, barring those who play on school teams. The league has become an integral part of sports culture at Westlake High School.

Stavros “The Greek Freak” Salamalekis, a Senior at Westlake High School plays in the league for the Denver Nuggets. “I played rec because I was doing nothing else”, says Salamalekis. He says rec basketball is fun and not as serious. This is Salamalekis’ first year on the team, he joined because his friends told him to play and he says playing against his friends is the best part. 

Salamalekis recently set a new rec basketball record, scoring 32 points in a single game. With this he was featured in a post on the league’s student-run Instagram account which has amassed 220 followers, more than the Instagram account for the high school team. 

Only a few games in, Salamalekis has big plans for the season. He says, “We’re going to win the damn championship” and “I will win MVP”.

Charlie Essman is also a Senior at Westlake who plays in the league. Essman says playing rec is less commitment and being on the school team is more stressful. He enjoys the energy of rec basketball games, “It’s electric”, he says.

Ben Akers is a Senior at Westlake High School and a captain of the Seattle Supersonics rec basketball team. “I played for the school team then quit”, says Akers. Since quitting the high school team Akers says he has more free time and more fun. While he takes it seriously, Akers says he can still just mess around. “It’s the greatest league in the world”, says Akers. Being the team captain is also something he takes great pride in. Akers says, “It means everything”.

The league plays every Thursday evening at the Westlake Rec Center. Game times range from 4:30 to 6:10, 6:10 being considered the “prime time” slot. Attend a game and find out for yourself what the hype is all about.