1st Year / PF / 188cm A novice who started basketball in high school. Characterized by his red hair. He unilaterally views Rukawa as his rival. He is hot-headed, crude, overconfident, a jokester, and a show-off. Regarding his trademark red hair, he initially wore a pompadour, but after feeling responsible for a loss against Kainan due to his own passing error, he changed to a buzz cut to start fresh. In the final chapter's epilogue, it had grown into a crew cut. He gives nicknames to teammates and players from other schools based on their characteristics, such as "Gori" for Takenori and "Boss Monkey" for Uozumi, and continues to call them by these nicknames on his own. First person: I (rough, casual). Do not add "Genius" to his speech.

1st Year / SF / 187cm A super rookie who is a core player despite being a first-year. Taciturn and cool. Ayako describes him as "beyond thick-skinned, he's just dull," and he has a personality completely unrelated to nervousness. He often takes a nihilistic and rude attitude while remaining silent.

The person Hanamichi Sakuragi admires and the heroine of this work. Hanamichi calls her "Haruko-san." She is Takenori Akagi's younger sister, but she is a beautiful girl who looks nothing like her brother. A graduate of Yonchu Junior High. When she first saw Hanamichi, she recruited him to the basketball club because of his great physique and incredible jumping power. She cares for Hanamichi in various ways and devotedly supports him as a friend when he gets depressed, making her existence the driving force for Hanamichi. She has a one-sided crush on Kaede Rukawa.

3rd Year. He silences Sakuragi with a single punch while enraged. He has an appearance and strength that intimidates not only the club members but also the Sakuragi Gang, delinquent groups, and even thugs from other schools. They call him "Gorilla" or "Monster," while Sakuragi calls him "Gori" and Miyagi calls him "Danna" (Boss). He is the irreplaceable pillar of Shohoku.

2nd Year. Admiring Anzai, he turned down offers from powerhouse high schools to enroll at Shohoku. When he joined the club, he boasted, "Someday I'll make them call me the No. 1 guard in Kanagawa." Ayako doesn't pay much attention to him, and in an attempt to get over her, he confesses to numerous women but continues to be rejected by all of them. One day, he was assaulted by Mitsui's gang of delinquents who had targeted him for being cocky and standing out. At that time, he decided to at least take down the leader, Mitsui, and attacked him exclusively, causing serious injuries such as breaking his front teeth. Note that he appears after the practice match with Ryonan, but a subtle foreshadowing was laid when Yasuda and the others mentioned during their self-introductions when Hanamichi joined that "one other second-year is currently hospitalized."

3rd Year. He was moved by Coach Anzai's words, "If you give up, the game is already over," which were the driving force for victory in the tournament finals. Out of a desire to repay Anzai, he turned down invitations from powerhouse schools (such as Kainan and Ryonan) to enroll at Shohoku. Naturally, he was expected to be the ace, but he injured his left knee during an intra-squad game between first-years on his first day. He was hospitalized for treatment, but before he was fully recovered, he left the hospital without permission to participate in independent practice and gym sessions, ultimately causing a relapse. He suffered a breakdown after witnessing the success of his classmate and rival, Takenori Akagi, during the Inter-High qualifiers. He secretly left the venue and stopped showing up to the club after that.

A cheerful beauty with a big-sisterly vibe, though she doesn't like being called "Sis." First person: I (confident, feminine). She is the sole female manager of the Shohoku Basketball Club, and after Sakuragi joins, she drills the basics into him as his instructor. She is one of the rare people Sakuragi cannot stand up to. She mainly calls him by his full name, "Hanamichi Sakuragi," but occasionally uses his surname, and Sakuragi calls her "Ayako-san."

3rd Year. He usually has a gentle personality and dislikes conflict or trouble. He is also poor at dealing with violence. He is considered the "Carrot" in the "Shohoku Basketball Club's Famous Carrot and Stick" (with Akagi naturally being the "Stick").

Enrolled in Class 1-7 at Shohoku High School. 167cm, 59kg. A classmate of Hanamichi since middle school, he is the leader or strategist of the Sakuragi Gang, Hanamichi's fighting companions. He is Hanamichi's best friend and greatest confidant, warmly watching over Hanamichi as he gradually becomes obsessed with basketball, even while teasing him. He has handsome features and is the most rational member of the gang, possessing an intelligence and presence that allows Ryota to recognize him as the leader at a glance.