Shout Out / Slam Dunk

Slam Dunk's Michael Jordan vs. the NBA's Kaede Rukawa.

This is a list of shout-out references for Slam Dunk.

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Real-Life NBA Team Models

The real-life NBA equivalents of the teams and players of Slam Dunk is always a fun topic to explore. Takehiko Inoue is quite the hardcore basketball fan indeed.

Shohoku High School

Team Line-Up

• If Kainan is the Lakers and Shoyo is the Celtics, then naturally the Dark Horse of Kanagawa, Shohoku, is the Slam Dunk equivalent of the Chicago Bulls under Michael Jordan.
• The Shohoku starting five also looked like the all-star line-up of the 1992 Olympic Dream Team.
  • Takenori Akagi (Patrick Ewing) as the center.
  • Ryouta Miyagi (Magic Johnson/John Stockton) as point guard.
  • Hisashi Mitsui (Larry Bird) as shooting guard.
  • Kaede Rukawa (Michael Jordan) as small forward.
  • Hanamichi Sakuragi (Charles Barkley) as power forward.
• The 1990-91 Chicago Bulls starting five is also Shohoku-like.
  • Takenori Akagi (B.J. Armstrong) as the center.
  • Ryouta Miyagi (John Paxson) as point guard.
  • Hisashi Mitsui (Craig Hodges) as shooting guard.
  • Kaede Rukawa (Michael Jordan) as small forward.
  • Hanamichi Sakuragi (Horace Grant/Scottie Pippen) as power forward.

Individual Team Members

• Even Kaede Rukawa himself is reminiscent of a young, brash, and ball-hogging Michael Jordan in terms of his all-rounder yet selfish play-style where he can literally do anything on the basketball court^note (occasionally attack from outside by shooting threes, steal balls, master feints and fakes, have underrated passing abilities, drive through a tight defense, do flying dunks from across the free throw line, or score in the paint).
  • Aside from play-style, Rukawa also wore Jordan's signature left armband. Like Jordan, Rukawa's character development came about when he learned the value of team play and passing the ball.
  • Also, in a case of Life Imitates Art, Rukawa passing to Sakuragi to get the game-winning buzzer beater in 1996 against Sanno High actually happened for real when Jordan passed to Steve Kerr to get the game-winning buzzer beater in 1997 against the Utah Jazz during the NBA Finals.
• Takenori Akagi is probably based on Patrick Ewing from the New York Knicks because they have the same physical appearance and the same position in the court. However, Ewing possesses better mid-range shooting, something that Akagi doesn't have.^note Akagi started off very raw and had a terrible free throw percentage until his second year in high school. In contrast, Ewing's free throw percentage is respectable amongst centers (74% all time). Akagi's angst in being the only good player in his team in his first two years of high school also mirrors Ewing's frustrations of never being an NBA champion despite winning Rookie of the Year in 1986 and being an 11-time NBA All-Star.
• Ryota/Ryouta Miyagi is likely based on former NBA player Muggsy Bogues, particularly during his stint with the Charlotte Hornets.^note Miyagi's shortness in height yet amazing ability to use his quickness to get past his defenders is quite Bogues-like. Bogues is still the Hornets' franchise leader in steals. Unlike Bogues, Ryota can steal the ball left-handed, and has a more accurate left-handed layup despite shooting right handed. Arguably, Miyagi could instead be comparable to Kevin Johnson of the Phoenix Suns based on the timing of Miyagi's first appearance, among other factors.^note They have the same jersey number, same speed and agility, same play-style that's even more accurate to Johnson than the Bouges comparison, and same impressive stamina. Like Kevin Johnson's face-off against Magic Johnson, Miyagi also ended up facing the Kainan Team Captain Maki in a duel to see who's Kanagawa's Number One point guard.
• Hisashi Mitsui is likely based on former NBA player Craig Hodges during his run with the Bulls.^note They both wore the No. 14 jersey and were three-point shooters. There's also Jeff Hornacek of the Phoenix Suns/Philadelphia 76ers.^note This is due to him also wearing the No. 14 jersey and having left knee problems. Like Mitsui, Hornacek also wore a knee brace as his knees deteriorated from the strain of shooting practice. According to several websites, Mitsui might also be based on gold medalist shooting guard Reggie Miller of the Indiana Pacers.
• According to Takehiko Inoue, Hanamichi Sakuragi is based off of NBA All-Star Charles Barkley in terms of rebounding acuity and dunking power.^note They even share a gift of gab in terms of trash talking to boot. From there, Sakuragi^note after Shohoku's defeat against Kainan (where he had his Important Haircut in penance for the loss) "became" more like Dennis Rodman from the "Bad Boy" Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs.
  • Rodman and Sakuragi share the same rough play-style that results in many fouls, strength and stamina, pure athleticism, jumping height, and ability to get endless rebounds.^note However, unlike Sakuragi, Rodman is a hassle-play defense specialist who can lock down anyone in the NBA, including Michael Jordan (with some help from the "Bad Boy" Pistons and their "Jordan Rules").The fact that Rodman ended up with the Bulls in 1995 is probably a happy coincidence.
  • Like Charles Barkley, the newbie Sakuragi tends to be a bad outside shooter (especially prior to his 20,000 jump shot training from Coach Anzai).^note Both Sakuragi and Barkley tend to get shouted down by their angry teammates whenever they attempt sure-to-fail jump shots instead of close-perimeter lay-ups or slam dunks. Infamously, Barkley made only 538 of his 2,020 attempts at 3-point shots in his entire career (26.6%).

Shoyo High School

• Shoyo is likely based on the Boston Celtics (of whom they share jersey colors with) under Larry Bird's leadership.
• The Shoyo playbook^note involving tall players in the paint stifling the other team's offense, getting all the rebounds, or scoring at will while supported by an unselfish point guard who could pass to any of them at any time or shoot from the perimeter with accurate twos and threes is quite reminiscent of the play-style of the 1980s Celtics as well.
• Meanwhile, their team captain and coach Kenji Fujima serves as their Larry Bird. Just as Fujima served as Shoyo's coach/player, Bird himself ended up becoming a successful NBA coach after he retired in 1992.
  • He also has shades of John Stockton in him due to his high I.Q. strategic plays, multitude of assists, quality passes, and smaller stature.
  • The way Fujima served as the player-coach of Shoyo, meanwhile, is also reminiscent of how Bill Russell fulfilled the same role for the Celtics from 1966 to 1969.
• Fujima's second-in-command, the 197 cm/6'6" Toru Hanagata, may probably be based on NBA player Kevin McHale due to his post proficiency, slender build, and tactical way of playing to outwit the defense.
  • He could also be likened to Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon of the Houston Rockets in terms of his fakes reminiscent of the "Dream Shake" (a spin move involving foot pivots and feints).

Kainan University Affiliated High School

• Kainan University Affiliated High School, meanwhile, shares the gold and purple colors of the L.A. Lakers.
• Therefore, Kainan's unusually bulky, tall, and strong point guard in Shinichi Maki is probably their Magic Johnson, thus making them the "Showtime" Los Angeles Lakers under Magic's leadership. This further parallels the rivalry between Maki and Fujima to Magic Johnson's rivalry with Larry Bird during their primes.
• Soichiro Jin is probably Kainan's closest analog to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He might not share Kareem's position (center), but they share the same tall, thin body.^note Despite Jin's height, he wasn't made a center because he lacked the strength and build needed to face off against beefier centers like Akagi, Uozumi, and even Hanagata. So he instead practiced his threes until he became even more accurate and consistent with the shot than Mitsui. Jin's ability to do consistent threes as a shooting guard is also reminiscent of how unstoppable and accurate Kareem's Sky Hook is.
  • He could also be considered a hybrid of Scottie Pippen^note (The Lancer and foil to Michael Jordan's protagonist status as The Ace of the Chicago Bulls) and Clyde "The Glide" Drexler^note (the actual Michael Jordan Expy in terms of high-flying athleticism before either Penny Hardaway or Kobe Bryant even entered the league, but he lacked Jordan's killer instinct) in terms of team position.
• Instead of a specific NBA player, Nobunaga Kiyotaka serves more as foil to Hanamichi (and his set of NBA influences), with him also being an athletically gifted and brash freshman with a one-sided rivalry against Rukawa.
  • Speaking of which, Kazuma Takasago seemingly serves more as Kainan's version of Akagi (plus his NBA influences) as well, just like with the Kiyotaka and Sakuragi parallel.^note This becomes a major plot point, with Sakuragi accidentally passing the ball to him instead of Akagi at a critical juncture of the Kainan vs. Shohoku game.
• The nerdy Yoshinori Miyamasu has an unassuming air to him that hides the fact that he's a reliable three-point shooting guard. This is reminiscent of the often underestimated "Houdini of the Hardwood" Bob Cousy, who looks unimposing at 6'1" for an NBA player yet he's a certified Celtics Hall of Famer.

Ryonan High School

• As for Ryonan, they share jersey colors with Shaquille O'Neal's Orlando Magic.^note The same Orlando Magic that managed to beat Jordan's Chicago Bulls in 1995 during the playoffs with a score of 108-102.
• In turn, Akira Sendo may likely be based on NBA legend Larry "Legend" Bird too, just like Fujima (and despite Shoyo being the Boston Celtics analog).^note This is mainly because of Sendo being a scoring forward capable of playing point guard. Sendo also has more of Bird's imposing height and clutch mentality compared to Fujima, as seen in the Shohoku practice game. Larry Bird's number in the 1992 United States Men's Olympic Basketball Team is 7, which is also the same as Sendo's number.
  • Around after 1993, he started resembling Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway more and more (Hardaway started playing for the NBA in 1993)^note as they are both talented point guards in spite of their height. They both share the same friendly attitude and great ability as playmakers and leaders as well.
  • He could also be based on Magic Johnson like Maki in light of the points above and the fact that they both wear Converse Conquest Mid.^note Speaking of Maki, his acknowledgement of Sendo as a Worthy Opponent could also give more weight to the Bird/Johnson comparison. Coincidentally, in 1996, a similar meeting happened between Magic Johnson and Penny Hardaway.
  • If Maki is Sendo's Magic Johnson to his Larry Bird, then Rukawa must be his Michael Jordan in turn.^note The heated rivalry between the rookie Rukawa and the veteran Sendo is highly reminiscent of the heated rivalry between Bird and Jordan in the 1980s for sure.
• Ryonan's Captain Jun Uozumi is likely based on Dikembe Mutombo and Shaquille O'Neal for their rebounding and shot-blocking abilities as well as Shaq's offensive dunk sets. He could also be Alonzo Mourning based on his rivalry with Ewing Expy Akagi.^note Since Shaq debuted in the NBA in 1992 (although he was a standout in LSU from 1989-1992), the big man and (relatively) smaller guy relationship between Sendo and Uozumi is likely based on the Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tandem or the Larry Bird and Kevin McHale tandem from the 1980s to the 1990s. It did help that from 1993 onwards, Penny Hardaway and Shaquille O'Neal developed a similar chemistry down the line.

Toyotama High School

• Because of the Toyotama players being physical and rough with their play, the team is mostly based on "The Bad Boys" era of the Detroit Pistons led by Isiah Thomas.^note They stymied Jordan's early dreams of championship wins with their "Jordan Rules".
• Although they definitely matched the physicality of the Pistons, the Toyotama playbook isn't a direct copy of the Pistons.^note The Pistons were actually 80% defense and 20% offense instead of the other way around, with Toyotoma more reminiscent of being the mirror image of Shohoku in terms of their offense-based play-style. On the other hand, the Pistons started off as an all-offense team that eventualy developed into a more defensive team that allowed them to win back-to-back championships and stymie Michael Jordan's early ambitions of getting a championship.
• Tsuyoshi Minami, the Ace Killer of Toyotama, is reminiscent of Bill Laimbeer because of his rough play-style. Therefore, Rukawa being able to play despite his bleeding injury from Minami is reminiscent of how Larry Bird was still able to play despite being injured by a blow to the chin by Laimbeer.

Sanno Industry Affiliated High School

• The Sannoh/Sanno/Sannou Industry Affiliated High School, the defending National Champions for three years straight, has jersey colors and a logo reminiscent of the San Antonio Spurs.
• As such, the true Penny Hardaway equivalent in Slam Dunk that arrived around the same time Hardaway was making a name for himself as "The Next Magic Johnson" or "The Next Air Apparent"^note (This was before Hardaway's unfortunate injuries and the true, closest Air Apparent, Kobe Bryant, wouldn't enter the league until 1996. Other Air Apparents included Vince Carter, Grant Hill, and Harold "Baby Jordan" Miner.) is Eiji Sawakita of Sanno High.^note It's only appropriate that Sendo himself could not beat Sawakita (whom he knows as Kitasawa instead) one-on-one, with Eiji being the true Hardaway Expy and all. He could also be an outright better equivalent of Michael Jordan than Rukawa as well.^note Sawakita has all the evolved 1990s Jordan skills that Rukawa (based on 1980s Jordan) lacks. In fact, Sawakita even wore Number 9, which is Dream Team Jordan's number.
• As for fellow Sannoh teammate Masashi Kawata, he may likely be the center version of Sir Charles Barkley of Phoenix Suns fame.^note In terms of play-style, they both possess great physiques that they use to overwhelm the weaker opposing players. Furthermore, they have the same history of being short during childhood, they share their love for women, they also have a belligerent sense of humor, and they look similar.

Meihou High School

• The true Shaquille O'Neal equivalent of the Slam Dunk universe is instead Hiroshi Morishige of Meihou High School (Aichi's Number One High School basketball-wise). He and Shaq both share the same body shape, style of play, and boundless power.
  • A rivalry between him and Hanamichi would've been interesting in light of the fact that Shaq himself admitted that Rodman was the only guy who could guard him.
  • Hanamichi and Morishige could also become fast friends in light of how the former rivals Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal eventually became Vitriolic Best Buds as two of the talking heads on Inside the NBA.

Miscellaneous

• Since Slam Dunk was written during The '90s when Michael Jordan and the Bulls dominated the NBA for most of the decade, it's expected that there'd be a lot of Jordan shout-outs on its pages or in various anime scenes.
  • Akagi has a poster of Michael Jordan doing a layup in his room.
  • Rukawa's sneakers are Air Jordan V, which Jordan wore when he won the 4th scoring title in 1989.
  • In Mitsui's hospital ward, he has two posters of Michael Jordan dunking. One is a Fake Finger Roll Dunk, the other is the Look-Away Reverse Dunk.
  • Sakuragi famously wore the Air Jordan 6. He eventually got the Nike Air Jordan 1 instead, given to him by a basketball fan shopkeeper.
• Akagi's Jordan poster was initially a poster of Scottie Pippen taking a free throw and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shooting a Sky Hook or hook shot. Ewing, Abdul-Jabbar, and Pippen all wore No. 33 jerseys in the 80's and/or 90's.
• During Episode 6, "Rukawa vs. Akagi: The Real Showdown" and Chapter 12, "Battle of the Real Deals", Haruko brings up Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and how, in UCLA, he was able to beat his seniors as a freshman using his hook shot. Dr. T then talks about the rest of the details at length in his own segment.
• On Episode 57, "Anzai, Bet on Victory!" and Chapter 123, "Disgrace", Hanamichi is forced to do NBA and ABA player Rick Barry's "Granny Shot" or Underhand Free Throw Shot by instinct in order to improve his free throw percentage against Kainan.
  • According to Dr. T, Rick Barry used his unorthodox free throw technique during the '78-'79 season of the NBA, succeeding in reaching a surprising 94% accuracy in free throws compared to the flashier hand-flick shooting technique.^note Barry didn't originate the technique, though. It was long ago utilized by NBA legend George "Mr. Basketball" Mikan of the Chicago American Gears (of the NBL) and Minneapolis Lakers (of the BAA) back in the 1940s to 1950s. The NBL and BAA would then merge to form the NBA.
• The Slam Dunk author's Author Avatar, Dr. T(akehiko Inoue), is a play on the name "Dr. J" given to NBA and ABA legend Julius Irving.
• There are several examples of author Takehiko Inoue referencing photographs of real NBA players to make the covers and in-game action poses of the Slam Dunk manga. Some argue it's outright plagiarism while others argue it's simple referencing and homage.

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