15+ Best Anime Like THE FIRST SLAM DUNK

If you loved THE FIRST SLAM DUNK, chances are you'll really enjoy HAIKYU!!, HAIKYU!! The Dumpster Battle and the others too. They share that same energy—whether it's the intense Sports, or just the vibe that keeps you hooked. While you wait for the next episode to drop, it’s the perfect time to explore something new that still feels familiar. These picks aren't just similar—they're fan favorites for a reason, and they might just become your next obsession.

1. HAIKYU!!

Synonyms: High Kyuu!!, HAIKYÛ !!, 排球少年！！, Haikyu!! L'asso del volley

Inspired after watching a volleyball ace nicknamed "Little Giant" in action, small-statured Shouyou Hinata revives the volleyball club at his middle school. The newly-formed team even makes it to a tournament; however, their first match turns out to be their last when they are brutally squashed by the "King of the Court," Tobio Kageyama. Hinata vows to surpass Kageyama, and so after graduating from middle school, he joins Karasuno High School's volleyball team—only to find that his sworn rival, Kageyama, is now his teammate. Thanks to his short height, Hinata struggles to find his role on the team, even with his superior jumping power. Surprisingly, Kageyama has his own problems that only Hinata can help with, and learning to work together appears to be the only way for the team to be successful. Based on Haruichi Furudate's popular shounen manga of the same name, Haikyuu!! is an exhilarating and emotional sports comedy following two determined athletes as they attempt to patch a heated rivalry in order to make their high school volleyball team the best in Japan. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

2. HAIKYU!! The Dumpster Battle

Synonyms: ハイキュー!! FINAL , Haikyuu!! FINAL, Haikyuu!! Battle at the Garbage Dump, Haikyu!! Movie: Decisive Battle at the Garbage Dump

Theatrical follow-up to Haikyuu!! TO THE TOP 2. The first film of Haikyuu!! FINAL. The Spring Nationals tournament continues on, with Karasuno High matched against rivals Nekoma High, the fated battle between cats versus crows, also known as the highly anticipated “Dumpster Battle”. This match is the long awaited ultimate showdown between two opposing underdog teams. (Source: Crunchyroll, edited)

3. Aoashi

Synonyms: AOASHI แข็งเด็กหัวใจนักสู้, أواشي, Ao Ashi - Playmaker

Ashito Aoi is a young, aspiring soccer player from a backwater town in Japan. His hopes of getting into a high school with a good soccer club are dashed when he causes an incident during a critical match for his team, which results in their loss and elimination from the tournament. Nevertheless, he catches the eye of someone important who happened to be visiting from Tokyo. How will things turn out for Ashito?(Source: Shogakukan Asia)

4. Ping Pong the Animation

Synonyms: None

Tsukimoto Makoto (nicknamed Smile) is a quiet high-schooler who's been friends with the loud and energetic Hoshino Yukata (nicknamed Peko). They're both in the table tennis club and are very good at it, though Smile's personality prevents him from winning against Peko. The club teacher however notices Smile's talent and tries to make him gain some sportive tenacity. (Source: Anime News Network)

5. Kuroko's Basketball

Synonyms: Kuroko no Basuke, The Basketball Which Kuroko Plays, הכדורסל של קורוקו, Баскетбол Куроко

Teikou Junior High School's basketball team is crowned champion three years in a row thanks to five outstanding players who, with their breathtaking and unique skills, leave opponents in despair and fans in admiration. However, after graduating, these teammates, known as "The Generation of Miracles", go their separate ways and now consider each other as rivals. At Seirin High School, two newly recruited freshmen prove that they are not ordinary basketball players: Taiga Kagami, a promising player returning from the US, and Tetsuya Kuroko, a seemingly ordinary student whose lack of presence allows him to move around unnoticed. Although Kuroko is neither athletic nor able to score any points, he was a member of Teikou's basketball team, where he played as the "Phantom Sixth Man," who easily passed the ball and assisted his teammates. Kuroko no Basket follows the journey of Seirin's players as they attempt to become the best Japanese high school team by winning the Interhigh Championship. To reach their goal, they have to cross pathways with several powerful teams, some of which have one of the five players with godlike abilities, whom Kuroko and Taiga make a pact to defeat. (Source: MAL Rewrite)

6. Kuroko's Basketball: Last Game

Synonyms: Kuroko no Basket: EXTRA GAME, Το Μπάσκετ του Κουρόκο: Το Τελευταίο Παιχνίδι

An animated film adaptation of the Kuroko no Basket: Extra Game manga. An American street basketball team called Jabberwock comes to Japan and plays a friendly match with a Japanese team, but after the Japanese team suffers a crushing defeat, the team members of Jabberwock start mocking Japanese basketball. Their comments enrage Riko's father, and so he gathers a team made up of the five members of the Generation of Miracles plus Kuroko and Kagami, called Vorpal Swords, to have a revenge match against Jabberwock. (Source: Anime News Network)

7. HAIKYU!! 3rd Season

Synonyms: Haikyu!! Karasuno High vs Shiratorizawa Academy, Haikyuu!! 3, ไฮคิว!! คู่ตบฟ้าประทาน ภาค 3

After the victory against Aoba Jousai High, Karasuno High School, once called “a fallen powerhouse, a crow that can’t fly,” has finally reached the climax of the heated Spring tournament. Now, to advance to nationals, the Karasuno team has to defeat the powerhouse Shiratorizawa Academy. Karasuno’s greatest hurdle is their adversary’s ace, Wakatoshi Ushijima, the number one player in the Miyagi Prefecture, and one of the country’s top three aces. Only the strongest team will make it to the national tournament. Since this match is the third-year players’ last chance to qualify for nationals, Karasuno has to use everything they learned during the training camp and prior matches to attain victory. Filled with restlessness and excitement, both teams are determined to come out on top in the third season of Haikyuu!!. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

8. Eyeshield 21

Synonyms: Eyeshield21

Welcome To the Gridiron of the Damned! Huge hulking bodies throw themselves at each other, while a tiny lithe body runs between them for the goal! No, it’s not a game of football, it’s Sena Kobayakawa trying to evade the monstrous Ha-Ha brothers down the halls of Deimon High School! But wait! Sena’s incredible skills at not getting caught have been spotted by the devilish (possibly actually demonic) captain of the school’s embryonic American style football team, and when Sena asks to be the teams manager, he gets thrust onto the field as a running back instead! But there are two BIG catches: first, to keep the identity of their new “star” player an absolute secret, Yoichi makes Sena wear an opaque visor on his helmet and gives him the alias of “Eyeshield 21.” And the second catch? Well, in order to hit his fastest “speed of light” running mode, Sena usually has to be absolutely terrified. Not that THAT will be a problem with the monstrous players that he’ll soon find himself running from! The insanity hits the streets when the feet meet the cleats in EYESHIELD 21! (Source: Sentai Filmworks)

9. Blue Giant

Synonyms: 블루 자이언트, 蓝巨人, ブルージャイアント, Blue Giant Tokubetsu-hen

Dai Miyamoto's life is turned upside down the day he discovers jazz. A former high school basketball player, Dai picks up a saxophone and begins practicing day and night, determined to become one of the greatest of all time. He leaves his hometown Sendai for the bustling nightclubs of Tokyo, but soon finds the life of a professional musician is not for the faint of heart. His passion eventually wins over the cocky but talented pianist Yukinori, and after Dai convinces his friend Shunji to learn the drums, they launch a new jazz trio whose rough sound contains a raw energy that quickly wins attention from local audiences. But what does it take to truly be great? (Source: GKIDS)

10. Ace of the Diamond

Synonyms: Daiya no Ace, Ace of Diamond, Daiya no A

With a stray pitch that completely missed the batter, Eijun Sawamura loses his final middle school baseball game. Frustrated by this defeat, Eijun and his teammates vow to reach the national tournament once they are in high school. But everything changes when a scout unexpectedly invites him to Tokyo's prestigious Seidou High School after seeing the potential in his unusual pitching style. Encouraged by his teammates, Eijun accepts the offer, ready to improve his skills and play at a much more competitive level of baseball. However, now surrounded by a large number of skilled players, Eijun struggles to find his place on the team. He declares that he will one day become the team's ace, but that's only if fellow first year Satoru Furuya doesn't take the title first, with his breakneck fastballs that earn him a coveted spot on the starting roster. With the addition of these talented new players to an already powerful lineup, the Seidou baseball team aims to become the best in Japan, facing off against a number of formidable foes that stand in their way. (Source: MAL Rewrite)

11. Slam Dunk: Shohoku Maximum Crisis! Burn Sakuragi Hanamichi

Synonyms: Slam Dunk Shouhoku Kaidai no Kiki! Moeru Sakuragi Hanamichi, Slam Dunk Movie 3, สแลมดังก์ เดอะ มูฟวี่ อันตรายของโชโฮคุและความเร่าร้อนของซากุรางิ

After losing the titanic match against Kainan High, Team Shohoku and a newly shaven Hanamichi Sakuragi are challenged to an exhibition match by virtual basketball unknowns Ryoukufu High. Coach Anzai sees this as an opportunity for Shohoku to regain their confidence, but Ryoukufu are revealed to have a newly assembled championship calibre lineup and may give Sakuragi & Co their toughest test yet. (Source: Anime News Network)

12. Uma Musume: Pretty Derby - Shin Jidai no Tobira

Synonyms: Uma Musume: Pretty Derby Movie, 劇場版 ウマ娘 プリティーダービー, ウマ娘 プリティーダービー BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA, Uma Musume: Pretty Derby - BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA

Jungle Pocket, an Umamusume who has been racing tirelessly in pursuit of becoming the greatest, is ready to take on the once-in-a-lifetime Classic Triple Crown series. However, standing in her way are rivals from the same generation, whose talent may even surpass her own. (Source: Umamusume: Pretty Derby English Twitter)

13. Slam Dunk: Roar!! Basket Man Spirit

Synonyms: Slam Dunk: Hoero Basketman Tamashii!! Hanamichi to Rukawa no Nekki NatsuRoar Basketman's Soul - Hanamichi and Rukawa's Burning Summer, Slam Dunk Movie 4, สแลมดังก์ เดอะ มูฟวี่ ฤดูร้อนอันระอุของรุคาว่ากับซากุรางิ

Ichiro Mizusawa, a player from Rukawa's old junior high school, Tomigoaka, is diagnosed with a crippling leg condition and wants to play one last game with Rukawa. Hanamichi sets out to help the boy and fulfill his wish. (Source: Anime News Network)

14. Slam Dunk: National Domination! Sakuragi Hanamichi

Synonyms: Slam Dunk Movie 2, สแลมดังก์ เดอะ มูฟวี่ ซากุรางิสุดยอดนักบาส ระดับประเทศ

Set during the Inter High Championships, Shohoku take on Tsukubu, one of this year's dark horses. It's a clash of acquaintances as Anzai will face his former student which is now the coach of Tsukubu, while Akagi & Kogure meet Godai their former classmate and Tsukubu's captain. Finally Sakuragi is irked by the presence of Nango, Tsukubu's center, who vies for Haruko's attention. (Source: Anime News Network)

15. Slam Dunk Movie 1

Synonyms: スラムダンク (1994), สแลมดังก์ เดอะ มูฟวี่ อดีตรัก คู่ปรับเก่า และบาสเกตบอล

Sakuragi and the Shohoko team takes on Oda and Takezono High School. This is Sakuragi's second match as he faces Oda, a basketball player who went to the same junior high. (Source: Anime News Network)

16. Blue Thermal

Synonyms: Закохані в небо, Влюбленные в небо

"I want to experience a love that sparkles!" Arriving from Nagasaki with her wishful mantra is Tamaki Tsuru, who in high school could think only about volleyball. Things don’t begin well, however, when she looks for an extracurricular club to join and proceeds to immediately ding a glider at aviation club tryouts ending up having to work it off. She is initially disillusioned with campus life. Then Kuramochi, the club leader and glider pilot, takes Tamaki under his wing, and from the moment he takes her up for a flight in a glider, Tamaki becomes a captive of the vast beauty of the skies. (Source: Eleven Arts)

If you're anything like me, once you finish something amazing like THE FIRST SLAM DUNK, you're left wondering—what now? Luckily, there’s a whole world of stories out there that give off the same energy, whether it’s the intense fights, emotional backstories, or just that feeling of being completely hooked. The titles like HAIKYU!!, HAIKYU!! The Dumpster Battle... I’ve shared aren’t just similar—they feel right. They hit that same nerve that made THE FIRST SLAM DUNK special in the first place. Of course, everyone’s taste is different, but I really think you’ll find something here that pulls you in. And hey—if you’ve got a favorite that didn’t make the list, I’d love to hear about it. I’m always looking for my next obsession.