Slam Dunk

After being dumped by Yoko, a girl he really liked in Junior High, Sakuragi Hanamichi was devastated. On the first day of school, he was approached by a girl who asked him whether he likes basketball or not. He immediately said he loves it although he has no idea how to play the sport. His world is filled with hope again.

When Hanamichi calls basketball a dumb game, the captain of the basketball team challenges him because Hanamichi had made fun of his favorite game of all!

Sakuragi Hanamichi has been training in the basics for two weeks under Ayako and he wants to play with the other. Akagi refused to let him play. Out of frustration, he quits the team. But after seeing Harukos face, he changes his mind again.

After successfully persuading Anzai to let him join the game, Sakuragi shows how much he has improved in basic skills such as dribbling. But in the game, he refuses to pass the ball to Rukawa out of jealousy.

Sakuragi declines Aotas offer of joining the Judo club. Kogure and Ayako were overjoyed at Sakuragis refusal and Akagi was very much impressed by Sakuragis words.

Having mastered dribbling and passing, Sakuragi moves on to shooting, which is a lot harder than he had anticipated. Frustrated by his lack of skil, Sakuragi gets some extra help from an unlikely source: Haruko.

Sakuragi is eager to play too, thinking of what Akagi has told him the previuos night. At Ryonan High, Anzai is greeted by Ryonan coach, Moichi Taoka. In the locker room, Anzai finally announces the starting five players who are Akagi, Yasuda, Shiozaki, Kogure and Rukawa.

Finally, Sakuragi got a chance to play when Akagi was hurt while playing. Now, there is only about 9 minutes left on the clock.

Ryonan is leading with 3 points ahead of Shohoku, Taoka said that the game will depends on how Sakuragi plays. Meanwhile, Sakuragi begins to realize how important rebounds are.

Although Shohoku has lost the game, Sakuragi played very well for his first game. Sakuragi and Rukawa vowed that in their next game with Ryonan, they will beat Sendoh.

Ryota Miyagi returns to basketball after beening injured in a fight. Ayako heard rumors that Miyagi was back in school, so she decided to investigate. She brings along Sakuragi and see that Miyagi is into another fight realizing that Ayako and Sakuragi are together sparking jealously into his eyes which causes a problem. Will Miyagi and Sakuragi be able to coexist...

A former member of the Shohoku team returns with a major axe to grind, which spells doom for the team.

Mitsui and Tetsuo were defeated, but Mitsui still continued to fight. Though when Akagi enters, the atmosphere becomes dense. Akagi slaps Mitsui around. Kogure then informs everyone that Mitsui use to be an excellent basketball player, and was even on the team. Kogure then proceeds to tell the rise and downfall of Mitsuis basketball career.

After suffering through his horrible injury, Mitsui quit on basketball. Though two years later, in his attempt to sabotage Shohoku from participating in the tournament, his feelings for the sport are growing stronger once again.

The match starts, and Anzai refuses to put Sakuragi, Rukawa, Mitsui, and Miyagi, in the starting line-up. For what reason? As punishment for fighting. Will Anzai keep it like this for the entire game?

Miuradai revealed a secret weapon of theirs thatll help them try and overcome Shohoku, and thats the ox Nato.

Shohokus next match is against Gohoku. While they have been exceeding almost everyones expectations, Sakuragi continues to be laughed at for his nonsensical and pointless fouls. He starts to realize that he might not be so great after all.

Mitsui got himself caught up in a fight between Ryo and Tetsuo, and was eventually beaten himself. However, an unlikely Sakuragi pops out of nowhere, and comes to aid his teammate when trying to get to the gym.

Anzai-sensei decides to start Sakuragi, much to everyones shock. He figures that with his height and drive hell be the perfect weapon to use against Shoyo.

With Rukawa taking the heat off of the rest of the team, Miyagi gets a chance to show off his skills as a point guard and his speed on the court.

Driven hard by by Rukawas offense and Sakuragis rebounding, Fujima comes off the bench to lead his team to victory.

Shohokus problems continue piling up. Mitsui cant get a 3 pointer to go in, forcing all the burden on Rukawa. Plus, Sakuragi is on the brink of fouling out, one more and hes gone. Is this the end for Shohoku?

While Mitsui has increased his efficiency during the game, Sakuragi still faces the brink of being dismissed. After a few destructive words from Rukawa, Sakuragi is fueled with fire.

Shohoku has defeated Shoyo, and Sakuragi is quick to spread the word, especially after his ferocious slam dunk on Hanagata. It seems like Oda, a person that went to the same junior high as him, is going to be facing Kainan. Theyre also hoping to pull off an upset victory like Shohoku has.

The match between Takezono and Kainan starts. Kainan only put in two starters the entire game, but it seemed like it was enough to take care of their opponents. That wasnt Takezonos only problem; Odas injury remains ignorant to everyone but Yohko and Sakuragi, and its clearly affecting his ability to play.

The match between Shohoku and Kainan has been tight and intense all the way through, but it was Sakuragi who stood out the most with his cocky attitude and amazing athleticism. However, Kainans coach is planning something to get Sakuragi off the court.

Shohoku isnt about to let their chances slip away against Kainan, however, things quickly changed when Akagi injured his ankle, forcing Sakuragi to take over his spot as center.

Rukawas strong performance made it seem like Shohoku has a chance of winning, but what got everyones attention was when Akagi came back from the locker room.

Anzai formulated a plan to destroy Kainans formidable backcourt combo of Jin and Maki by playing zone defense, and their offense started crumbling. Sakuragi, when shooting from the free throw line, decided to shoot it differently by throwing up a granny shot.

The last ten seconds of the game are approaching, and Shohoku is only down by four. The one wholl decide this match will be Sakuragi.

Sakuragis new haircut was the news of the school the next day. During practice, he decided to work twice as hard in order to prevent another mistake like that happening again. When Mitsui was the one guarding Sakuragi, all of his weaknesses and shortcomings started showing.

The anticipated match up between two of the best teams in the region commences. One of the biggest surprises was how Sendoh was handling point guard duties, and was doing an efficient job of it with Ryonan getting a head start against Kainan.

Due to Uozumi being fouled out, and Fukuda being a terrible defensive player, Sendoh was forced to carry Ryonan on his shoulders all by himself. Though for Shohoku, greater events have become more of a priority.

One of the more exciting matches in the tournament is about to start, as its Ryonan vs. Shohoku. Though people have already been speculating Shohokus chances of a victory, as their coach is absent, resting himself in the hospital.

Something appears to be wrong with Akagi; after getting knocked down by Uozumi, he started playing horribly. Kogure was forced to call a timeout in order to straighten things out.

It seems that things are back to normal psychologically for Shohoku as Sakuragi wasnt as raged as expected by his friends, and Akagi finally solved some internal problems. The true match is about to start.

Everyone was confused on Rukawas performance so far, scoring only two points. Though it became apparent in the second half; he saved up his energy for the second half in order to prevent what had happened to him during the final minutes against Kainan!

Sendoh and Rukawa continue to push against each other in the second half, but the highlight of it so far is Uozumi being forced to sit out with four fouls.

Uozumi has to sit out due to his fouls, which causes Akagi to dominate the paint and score easy baskets.

The shift of momentum started turning into Ryonans favour as soon as Uozumi came back with four fouls, making defensive stops and scoring points.

Sendohs strong offensive play continues to push Ryonan closer to Shohoku, and their defensive stops arent allowing Shohoku to score any points.

Kogure spotted up for a 3 pointer. During the balls journey there to the net, Kogure gets flashbackes of the basketball trials he faced to get to the position hes currently at.

Expectedly, the Shohoku basketball team is all the talk at Shohoku school, and everyone wont leave them alone, especially the schools news reporter Mari.

Sakuragi goes with Maki to scout out some teams wholl also be heading into the national tournament. One freshman center instantly caught their attention.

Understanding Anzais words, Rukawa immediately makes it his goal to become the best player in Japan, even taking it at a higher level during practice against his own teammates.

It seems that some of Shohokus players have more things to worry about other than the fearful opponents at the nationals. Their marks have been poor, and if they dont pass their upcoming tests, theyll be forbidden to play! Akagi decides to take in his teammates and have a study camp at his house.

Anzai decides to incorporate Sakuragi into the Shohoku offense, making him go through rigorous shooting training.

Haruka decides to reward Sakuragi for his hard practicing by taking him to the festival. Sakuragi sees this as an opportunity to try and get with her, but the process became harder then he had expected.

When a couple of Shoyo players decided to give their goodlucks to Shohoku, Sakuragi comes up with a suggestion; a game against Shoyo and Ryonan!

The combination team has become even more formidable by adding Sendoh and Fukuda to their lineup, and while Sakuragi is still struggling, Shohoku retains the lead.

The battle between the combo team and Shohoku has reached its climax, and the one deciding its conclusion is Sakuragi with a Slam Dunk. Though Shohoku has more important things to look forward to, such as the Inter High Tournament.