I'm so happy to see so many reviews with such good vibes regard to this manga, it really makes me happy cus i just finished this like a week ago and i felt like crying when i got to the end, it was just too good, man. I initially started watching the anime, but i wanted more so here i am.
Basketball itself is such a beautiful sport, i mean, my dad used to play it and he told me all the rules about this, do's & dont's, but i didn't pay attention that much and i regret so bad i didn't play it too. The fact that i found this manga it made me love basketball even more.

The characters are so well constructed, each one with a different personality, especially the main ones, though my fav is mitsui; i just liked his character development, from good to bad to good again and being so strong mentally and physically. With his perfect 3points shooting, miyagi's agillity, the "ace" rukawa, akagi's desperate wish of winning, and our sakuragi who makes the most unexpected moves, manteining the team all together. Sakuragi evolved also as a character so much, he focused on basketball more and more and, i don't know if you guys noticed, but his appearance resembles michael jordan so much, even more after he shaved his hair. And not to forget his best friends who stayed with him when he was letdown and supported him. Best gang ever. Also all those chibi moments in anime and manga were damn funny, haha.

I must say that the art in this manga is just incredible, with a fine lineart, well contured and those shadowy parts just took my attention, made me see all these details every chapter offered me. Bless the artist. Inoue Takehiko's art it's just perfect.
After i finished SD, i started reading Vagabond, and everytime the main character is shown (Musashi), all i see is Sakuragi with long dark hair and his sword in his hand. Both of them have aprox. like, the same face's features and resemble each other so well. The artist leaves easily his signature in all his main characters. Takehiko work's in general just catches your attention instantly.

Overall, if you're into this sport, i say go ahead and give this a chance, cus it really deserves. I reccomend this to all basketball lovers and those who will probably be.