History Awesome / SlamDunk

* [[HesBack After 26 years]], new content for Slam Dunk has been announced with the release of a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xETjtPe53ko teaser trailer]] for the 2022 movie.

* In the ending stanza of the practice game between [[OpposingSportsTeam Ryonan]] and [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits Shohoku]], Ryonan's Ace [[DesignatedVillain Akira]] [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Sendoh/Sendou/Sendo]] was able to [[TheBadGuyWins grab victory]] from the [[HopeSpot jaws of defeat]] by doing a last-second play like the gifted [[WorthyOpponent clutch]] [[HeroAntagonist player]] that he was. The addition of Hanamichi Sakuragi and Kaede Rukawa in Shohoku's starting line-up was enough to force Sendo to [[TheGlovesComeOff go all out]].

* The modus operandi of Shoyo High School is nothing short of brilliant. Team Captain and Shoyo Ace [[TheStrategist Kenji Fujima]] could pass to all [[EliteFour four pillars]] of his team (Shoyo has one of the [[BiggerIsBetter tallest]] lineups in Kanagawa, having at least 4 players who are 190 cm/6'2" tall and above) and have them [[HardWorkHardlyWorks dunk or layup]] in the paint or [[StoneWall defend]] the other basket with their tallness. Once the opposing team expects him to [[DefensiveFeintTrap always pass]] to his teammates, he could then [[FrontlineGeneral shoot and score]] [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority himself]] if pressed.

* The modus operandi of Shoyo High School is nothing short of brilliant. Team Captain and Shoyo Ace [[TheStrategist Kenji Fujima]] could pass to all [[SatelliteCharacter four pillars]] of his team (Shoyo has one of the [[BiggerIsBetter tallest]] lineups in Kanagawa, having at least 4 players who are 190 cm/6'2" tall and above) and have them [[HardWorkHardlyWorks dunk or layup]] in the paint or [[StoneWall defend]] the other basket with their tallness. Once the opposing team expects him to [[DefensiveFeintTrap always pass]] to his teammates, he could then [[FrontlineGeneral shoot and score]] [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority himself]] if pressed.

* Sakuragi again showed his value to Shohoku during the match against Ryonan. He not only almost fouled out Ryonan Captain Jun Uozumi. He also stopped Sendoh from doing his drive when even Rukawa was fooled by Ryonan's Ace. Finally, he scored the last shot of the game by dunking on Ryonan's Power Forward, Kicchou Fukuda.

** In the manga, the fruits of his labor was shown during the early championship match against Sannoh.

* Another demonstration of just how good a coach Anzai is: before the match against Sannoh, the whole team (sans [[TheStoic Rukawa]]) was nervous. He manages to convince each one to get into the right mindset in his way: to Miyagi, he puts confidence in his skills to break the opponent's pace; with Mitsui, he points out Sannoh changed their lineup on his account, therefore they must be afraid of his skills; for Akagi, in the end, he didn't need to do anything because he managed to get in the zone in his own way; and for Sakuragi, he sees how he's attempting to come up with his own strategies and points out how focused he seems to be. Sakuragi answers that, after his failed dunk attempt at halftime of the preliminaries (see the Funny section), he's not afraid of anything anymore.

** Even [[VitriolicBestBuds Rukawa]] of all people gave Sakuragi [[TheOneThingIDontHateAboutYou kudos]] over the dunk afterwards. Also, Sakuragi actually got cheered by the audience, getting the loudest cheers of the game. Mitsui then said, "Even my scores are [[NotBad overshadowed]] by his." Notably, it takes so long for the reality of it all to sink in for Sakuragi that it's not until the morning after that he goes back to bragging about his genius, after some prodding from Yohei.

* Sakuragi again [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2X904Re4GU showed his value]] to Shohoku during the match against Ryonan. He not only almost fouled out Ryonan Captain Jun Uozumi. He also stopped Sendoh from doing his drive when even Rukawa was fooled by Ryonan's Ace. Finally, he scored the last shot of the game by dunking on Ryonan's Power Forward, Kicchou Fukuda.

* During the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCdTTFd958w Kainan game]] (Kainan High is Kanagawa's [[DefeatingTheUndefeatable Number One]] High School Basketball Team), Shohoku's Ace [[TheRival Kaede Rukawa]] became an unstoppable force of nature, stealing the ball and scoring against the Kainan defense repeatedly while an injured [[BigBrotherMentor Takenori Akagi]], the Shohoku Captain, was benched and tending to his injury. By the time Akagi got back, the score was tied at 49-49 with 2 seconds remaining. He was actually a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmDn0YBBI0I human highlight reel]] the whole game. Alas, this amazing display was at the cost of [[GlassCannon Rukawa's]] [[PowerStrainBlackout stamina]].

* In the final few minutes of Shohoku's match against [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWAB7hOcaXk Kainan]], Hanamichi Sakuragi was able to take the rebound against Kazuma Takasago then do a pump fake on him, leading Kazuma to jump too early. Hanamichi then jumped to do a slam dunk against a defending Shinichi Maki, the Team Captain of Kainan. Not only did the dunk count, he also [[BeyondTheImpossible drew a foul]] against TheAce of Kainan High.

* On a meta note, this Taiwanese [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBTNokNq_fg video]] featuring a live-action version of the intro of ''Slam Dunk''. Quite accurate, particularly when it comes to the person who played Sakuragi.

** Even [[VitriolicBestBuds Rukawa]] of all people gave Sakuragi [[TheOneThingIDontHateAboutYou kudos]] over the dunk afterwards. Also, Sakuragi actually got cheered by the audience, getting the loudest cheers of the game. Mitsui then said, "Even my scores are [[NotBad overshadowed]] by his."

** In the manga, the fruits of his labor was shown during the early championship match against Sanno/Sannoh.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._Sakuragi J.R. Sakuragi]] (born Milton J. Henderson Jr.) is an American-Japanese pro basketball player who's such a big fan of ''Slam Dunk'' that as part of his naturalization request to become a Japanese citizen, he renamed himself after Sakuragi. He ended up playing for the Japanese national team, the 2007 FIBA Asian championship, and the NBA.