As an avid anime watcher and basketball lover, I am always on the lookout for great sports anime that combine my two passions.
Basketball anime tend to have awesome slam dunks, intense games, and inspiring stories about friendship and teamwork. Over the years, I have compiled my list of the 5 greatest basketball anime of all time.
These shows not only showcase excellent basketball action, but also tackle deeper themes like chasing dreams, overcoming challenges, and growing as an athlete and person. Read on for my rankings of the top 5 best basketball anime ever made!
5 Best Basketball Anime
1. Slam Dunk
Slam Dunk is widely considered one of the greatest sports manga and anime ever created. As an anime fan, I was hooked from the first pulsating opening song and scene of protagonist Hanamichi Sakuragi slamming down a dunk.
Despite being a complete newbie when he joins Shohoku High’s basketball team, Hanamichi’s athleticism and drive fuel his rapid improvement. Combined with his gang leader turned teammate Takenori Akagi, the dashing shooter Hisashi Mitsui, and superstar player Kaede Rukawa, Shohoku develops into a championship contender.
Slam Dunk perfectly encapsulates the physicality, passion, and youthful emotions of high school basketball. The games brim with energy as players bounce off the court, sink last second shots, and show absolute tenacity through injuries and fatigue. Win or lose, Slam Dunk made me stand up and cheer from exhilaration.
2. Kuroko's Basketball
Kuroko’s Basketball takes a unique approach of highlighting an invisible phantom sixth man of the legendary Teikō Junior High team. Tetsuya Kuroko lacks presence and actual basketball skills, but possesses game-changing passing abilities and intuition from his time paired with prodigal scorer Daiki Aomine.
Seeing Kuroko expertly redirect balls, enable clutch shots, and pull the string on entire games was always enthralling. When he joins hot blooded power forward Taiga Kagami at Seirin High, their rapid chemistry builds another Championship contender.
With Kuroko orchestrating plays from the shadows, Kagami slamming highlight reel dunks, and the rest of the scrappy Seirin squad hustling, this show captures the teamwork required in basketball. The famous Zone state where players exceed physical limits also added a superhuman scale to matches. Kuroko’s Basketball blended strategic sophistication with superpowered action for peak entertainment.
3. Ahiru no Sora
As an underdog story, Ahiru no Sora instantly connected through protagonist Sora Kurumatani’s bottomless passion for basketball. Despite his short height imposing major disadvantages on the court, Sora’s work ethic, courage, and creativity cannot be matched.
Seeing his unconventional plays and relentless running unravel opposing defenses animated me. And his loyal friends - brothers Chiaki and Momoharu who anchor the Kuzuryū High team - always came through when Sora required backup. Beyond the standard development arcs, I loved seeing Sora mentor troublesome genius player Kiyoshi Tomizawa later on.
The anime captured how dedication, team chemistry, and an indomitable spirit can overcome imposing odds. Through its emphatic protagonist and injection of humor, Ahiru no Sora had me laughing and crying with each emotional victory.
4. Dear Boys
For a more emotional basketball anime, Dear Boys tugs at the heartstrings by spotlighting protagonists Kazuhiko Aikawa and Takumi Fujiwara rebuilding the Mizuho High basketball club from obscurity. They recruit other passionate players and set their sights on the National Championship, despite lacking funding, formal coaches, and school support.
The genuine bonds between characters and their shared devotion resonated strongly with me as an anime fan. Dear Boys movingly depicts their full range of feelings too - soaring joy upon winning, anguished tears from loss and failure, fiery determination in practice.
Every step of their growth into a synchronized unit had me fully invested. And the strategic gameplay could also stand among the best with clever mixes of screens, drives, perimeter shooting.Both an inspiring sports story and poignant coming-of-age tale, Dear Boys had me crying tears of sorrow and happiness.
5. Buzzer Beater
For an anime set in the far future on an intergalactic scale, Buzzer Beater scoring a spot on this list shows its supreme entertainment value. Protagonist and half-alien orphan Hideyoshi grows up streetballing in New York to eventually get recruited into a space traveling professional basketball team.
The anime’s crazy premise allowed its creators to infuse basketball action with anime-style exaggeration. Hideyoshi and his teammates have otherworldly leaping ability leading to giant slam dunks. Opposing alien races also utilize strange techniques and abilities to counter them.
The visual spectacle kept me constantly awestruck and the world building elements with various races, technologies, cultures made it all the more immersive. Beyond the galaxy spanning scale, at its core, Buzzer Beater told a relatable story of friendship between Hideyoshi and his teammates. The global futuristic setting was mere backdrop to these bonds solidifying through their trials conquering the intergalactic pro league.
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Final Thoughts
Basketball anime has captured my heart these past years for synthesizing my passion for the sport and Japanese animation. The blend of intense emotional storylines alongside exhilarating basketball action makes for supreme entertainment. These shows also touch on deeper themes of chasing dreams against imposing odds.
Through their devoted training, team bonding, and determination, protagonists transform from scrawny amateurs to skilled athletes finding purpose and friendship. Win or lose, we become inspired and reassured of what passion and resolve can achieve. These were my favorite basketball anime of all time that had me laughing, crying, and endlessly rooting for beloved characters with all my heart.
I welcome more amazing basketball anime to come that can potentially join this list!
