Hanamichi Sakuragi is your average high school delinquent; sporting a bright red pompadour and continually being shot down by every girl he approaches, he jumps at the chance to impress a cute girl named Haruko by joining his school's basketball team. While at first not knowing the difference between a slam dunk and a Sherman tank, he slowly becomes an important part of the Shohoku High School team, which fights against the odds on the road towards the regional championships.