Hanamichi Sakuragi (桜木 花道 Sakuragi Hanamichi) is the main protagonist of Slam Dunk, serving as Shohoku's power forward. At the beginning of the series, Sakuragi is a slacker, good for nothing other than fighting. He is the leader of the feared Sakuragi Legion, which consists of his four friends Mito, Noma, Ohkusu and Takamiya. After being rejected fifty times by girls during junior high school, Sakuragi meets and falls in love with Haruko Akagi, a basketball fangirl. This and Haruko's encouragement lead him to join the Shohoku basketball team. However, as a complete beginner, he is not able to keep up with the rest of the team despite his outstanding height, athleticism, stamina, speed and leaping ability. He regards himself as a "genius" though, with self-confidence that borders on arrogance. Sakuragi's most recognizable trait is his red hair, though he later shaves his head as reparation for an error that led to a loss in the Interhigh Tournament against Kainan.
Sakuragi becomes infamous for his poor basketball skills as a beginner and his tendency to foul out of every game. However, his basketball skills advance throughout the series. First he develops his basic skills, such as dribbling and layups. Then, trained by Akagi, he becomes a formidable rebounder, which becomes his claim to fame throughout the latter half of the series. His jump shooting is then developed by Coach Anzai, who has him make 20,000 shots in a week. However, he also injured his back during the match against Sannoh when saving the ball from going off the court, and underwent rehabilitation after Shohoku's subsequent loss to Aiwa Academy. While considered by most to be an amateur's instinctual tactic, the tactic itself, coupled with Sakuragi's formidable athleticism, actually goes well with his somewhat unorthodox playing style. This allows Sakuragi to be in the right place at the right time to intercept more experienced players. Although his love for Haruko and rivalry with Rukawa are the main driving forces motivating him to succeed in basketball, his injury during the Sannoh match makes him realize that he has actually come to love the game, leading him to give his all for his team and bring them victory.
He has a habit of making fun of other players by giving them various nicknames, as he rarely calls his teammates or opponents by their real names. He calls Akagi "Gori" (ゴリ),Kogure "Megane-kun" (メガネ君) and Uozumi "Boss Monkey" (ボス猿). While he seems to be nothing but a trouble maker, he has his own dark past. He once got into a fight with four high school students, whom he single-handedly knocked out. Later when he went home, he found his dad lying unconscious. When he went for help, he met with high school students whom he had fought previously, with eight students this time. While neither the manga nor anime suggests who won the fight, it does suggest the fight delayed Sakuragi, and which resulted in the death of Sakuragi's father. In the anime he is voiced by Takeshi Kusao.
