There are excellent sports anime about a variety of sports. This includes great soccer anime such as Blue Lock, Captain Tsubasa, and Ao Ashi. However, this is far from the only popular sport to receive multiple great anime series. Basketball is another popular sport with several high-quality anime made about it. Quite a few great basketball anime exist and it is important to examine them.

Doing so allows one to find more sports anime that they may greatly enjoy. Anime about basketball is often well-made and exciting. Without further ado, here are the seven best anime about basketball.

Best Basketball Anime: 1. Kuroko’s Basketball

There are a number of high-quality basketball anime that deserve a spot on this list. However, Kuroko no Basuke aka Kuroko’s Basketball stands apart from all of them as the best anime in the genre. This anime sets itself apart from the competition in a number of ways. It focuses on Tetsuya Kuroko, a quiet basketball player who is inspired by Kagami Taiga to defeat his former middle school teammates, the Generation of Miracles. In doing so, Kuroko and Kagami seek to help Seirin High School become the best high school basketball team in Japan.

Kuroko’s Basketball first started airing in April 2012 and the anime finished its initial run in 2015. An anime adaptation of Kuroko’s Basketball: Extra Game aired in March 2017. Kuroko’s Basketball features well-written characters, action-packed basketball games, great music, and effective character development. If viewers want realistic basketball, this is not the anime for them. However, if viewers don’t mind over-the-top action, Kuroko’s Basketball is sure to entertain them.

2. Slam Dunk

It is debatable whether to put this anime in second or in first above Kuroko’s Basketball. However, it is second on this list. Slam Dunk is a legendary sports anime that focuses on Hanamichi Sakuragi and his transformation into a skilled high school basketball player at Shohoku High School. Prior to his introduction to basketball, Sakuragi was a delinquent and initially struggles to learn the game.

Haruko Akagi, the girl Sakuragi has a crush on, convinces him to join Shohoku High School’s basketball team. Sakuragi is a natural athlete but takes some time to learn the more technical aspects of basketball. Nonetheless, Sakuragi and his teammates take to the court to turn around Shohoku High School’s basketball team. The team is hardly known at all at the start of the series. However, they gain recognition after defeating a powerhouse team at the national high school championship.

Slam Dunk originally aired from 1993 to 1996, with several anime films coming out after that. The most recent of these, The First Slam Dunk, was released in 2022. Slam Dunk offers interesting characters, good music, comedy, and realistic basketball games. Viewers who aren’t a fan of Kuroko’s Basketball’s unrealistic basketball will surely love the more grounded basketball in Slam Dunk. The pacing of the original anime isn’t great at times, but Slam Dunk remains a great anime that helped make basketball more popular in Japan.

3. Ahiru no Sora

Ahiru no Sora is another one of the best basketball anime ever, airing from 2019 to 2020. Sora Kuramatani is the series’ main character and the point guard of the Kuzuryu High School basketball team. Sora quickly comes to understand that the team doesn’t take basketball very seriously. Instead, the team is more of a collection of delinquents and a haven for these delinquents.

Sora joins the team to fulfill his promise to his mother and starts to turn around the team thanks to his genuine love for basketball. Despite his small size, Sora helps the other players rediscover their love for the game. Ahiru no Sora is similar to Kuroko’s Basketball in some ways. However, it is slower-paced and more realistic while still providing plenty of action. Viewers who enjoy either Kuroko’s Basketball or Slam Dunk or both will likely appreciate Ahiru no Sora.

Best Basketball Anime: 4. Buzzer Beater

Buzzer Beater is probably the least well-known anime on this list so far. However, it is underrated and deserves its spot on the list. Buzzer Beater is a departure from realistic basketball and instead centers on Hideyoshi Tanaka, a 15-year-old point guard who seeks to challenge a world where aliens dominate basketball. This anime aired in 2005 and its second season aired in 2007.

Tanaka is chosen to join the Earth All-Star team due to his superhuman speed. Tanaka is half-alien and this is the reason behind his superhuman speed. He joins a professional basketball team and plays in thrilling games to defeat the aliens. Buzzer Beater provides action-packed basketball, compelling characters, great music, and the classic trope of the underdog overcoming the odds and winning. It is a great watch for viewers who want exciting basketball.

5. Dear Boys

Dear Boys is another top-notch basketball anime, even if it doesn’t have the recognition that it deserves. It focuses on Kazuhiko Aikawa and Takumi Fujiwara, two high school basketball players playing on the Mizuho High School basketball team. The relationship between these two players is a key focus for the series. They work together to help the team win the prefectural high school basketball championship.

Dear Boys offers good character development, fun games, and interesting storylines. The anime aired in 2003 and had 26 episodes. Viewers who want to check out an underrated anime in the genre will like Dear Boys.

Best Basketball Anime: 6. Basquash!

Basquash is a departure from some of the more grounded anime series on this list. This series takes place in a futuristic society where players ride on a mechanized foot while they play basketball. This game is known as Big Foot Basketball. Dan JD is the series’ protagonist and seeks to lead his team to greatness.

This series is a bit wacky, but it is also a great deal of fun and a good watch for anyone who enjoys basketball anime.

7. I’ll

I’ll is a strangely named but good anime in the genre. This series showcases Akane Tachibana and his struggles with the Kouzu High basketball team. This series offers entertaining games and well-written characters, making it a great series for any fan of basketball and anime.