Shohoku High's basketball team is dismayed when they learn their team's rank after they make it to Nationals and must take on an A-ranked team in order to make to the next round, where they could have to face last year's champion, Sanno Kogyo.
With thirty seconds left, the Kings from Kainan hold their four-point lead, but unpredictable Sakuragi gets his chance to restore hope to his team on the free throw line.
Sakuragi's rebounds helps eat away at Sannoh's lead with seven minutes left in the second half, but Sannoh's star player is not making it easy on the Shohoku team. Rukawa and Sakuragi must dig deep for an understanding of themselves and the game if they are to have any hope of pulling off a Shohoku win.
Patrice, a skilled basketball player whose mother is an alcoholic, does not feel like she has anyone she can trust after Deena bullies her and keeps her from sitting with Akil, Marcel, and Tre, but Akil shows Patrice that she can count on him.
When their two worlds collide in seventh grade, fraternal twins and opposites Owen and Russell find themselves in direct competition at school, on the court, and at home.
