Adi's Blog

Anime Relations: Kuroko no Basket, Kuroko no Basket 2nd Season, Kuroko no Basket 3rd Season

Kuroko no Basket is in essence the Avengers playing Basketball, so to draw a comparison between the characters within the show and to real-life NBA players may seem silly at first, but, that sure as hell didn’t stop my mind from wandering off and making connections while watching the show.

I’ll be comparing the starting 5 lineup of Seirin as well as the 5 members of the Generation of Miracles, as those are the 10 characters who received the most depth so making comparisons was relatively easy.


There are a few vague spoilers within this so keep that in mind. The comparisons would be more impactful if you had seen the show anyway







A borderline-psychopathic desire to win, an NBA-record 48-inch vertical jump, bird-like hang time and some awe-inspiring dunks, Michael Jordan couldn’t be more like Kagami Taiga if he tried. Kagami’s “aerial battles” as described are often replicated in form by Michael Jordan, and as Kagami Taiga is entrusted to carry his team to victory as the “ace”, Michael Jordan did the same over and over again. NBA defenders who were unfortunate enough to be assigned to Michael Jordan described a phenomenon in which they jump after Jordan does in an attempt to block his shot, only to find themselves descending back to the ground while Jordan continues to fly above... sound familiar? Jordan was also an esteemed defender for most of his career and, like Kagami, didn't have a reliable 3-point shot. His offensive game is very similar to Kagami's in that regard as well.

»MJ’s aerial battles -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7vsjOHq5E0
»MJ dunks it from the fucking free-throw line -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUz3ZYfoNxo
»MJ’s glorious hangtime -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dol0gb1ABxU





A knockdown 3 point jumper, high basketball IQ and a knack for hitting clutch shots, it's clear that Hyuga Junpei and Steve Kerr are cut from the same cloth. Steve Kerr has the highest 3-point shot percentage in NBA history and is most famous for his game-winner against the Utah Jazz in Game 6, 1997 of the NBA finals. Coincidentally enough, Steve Kerr was teammates with Michael Jordan (Kagami Taiga in this case) for a few years and was actually entrusted by MJ to hit the game-winning shot (sounds familiar huh?). Furthermore, Steve Kerr has also been the head coach of the historical Warriors teams since 2014 which speaks to his leadership abilities and basketball intelligence, both qualities that Hyuga Junpei is noted to have as well. I mean for goodness' sake, just watch his game-winner below and the events leading up to it and tell me you couldn't picture this in the show.

»Steve Kerr's game winner -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2BlOTeoZVE





This one is one of the easiest comparisons to make. It's almost uncanny. To begin, Tim Duncan and Kiyoshi Teppei both play similar roles in their team, and were always their team's best rim-protector and rebounder. Tim Duncan is a top 10 all time player but is never discussed with great enthusiasm arguably because of his lack of fiery flair; this is similar to how Kiyoshi Teppei is known as one of the "Uncrowned Kings" that were overshadowed by the more exciting Generation of Miracles. Tim Duncan is also known to be one of the nicest players to have ever played the game, players have even talked about how Tim Duncan was giving them advice while he was playing against them on the court (that's kinda familiar, right?). He's also a huge goofball. Teppei's trademark line of "let's have some fun" is easily something you could see Duncan saying. Duncan was first class passer which is rare for his position, and just like Teppei occasionally played the point guard position due to his good court vision and great passes. And if the two weren't already similar enough, Tim Duncan essentially never played with two healthy knees. He dealt with various knee issues (such as tendinitis) throughout his career but it never deterred him from being one of the greatest players of all time; sounds like someone we know, right?

»Tim Duncan denies Kevin Durant -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5lwgOSXLFg
»Tim Duncan ultimate passing mixtape -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng8CN-Q5fDk





An unarguable top 5 point guard of all time, Kidd was known for his nearly unparalleled court vision, fantastic passing ability as well as an unnatural understanding of the Basketball game that allowed him to make important defensive plays usually rooted in accurate predictions. He was never that athletic, and relied more on his intelligence than athleticism to get the job done.

»Kidd’s steal based on anticipation and quick pass for a dunk > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZbILbK9OV0





The most notable skills that Kuroko has is his defensive steals, his swift and accurate passes and his vanishing drive that relies on misdirection. With these things in mind, Rajon Rondo is the closest to Kuroko. At his peak, Rondo was a complimentary piece to 3 other superstars, effectively being their ‘shadow’ that sets them up for easy shots as well as makes things easier on the defensive side. Rondo, like Tetsuya, was also a terrible shooter, with low shooting percentages from virtually everywhere on the field. He also has a wonky shooting form that’s just fundamentally wrong. Rondo is also extremely intelligent, in fact after his peak years with with the Boston Celtics in 2009~ his career went downhill as he continuously got traded from team to team due to conflicts with the coaching staff; apparently he believed he knew better than them due to his eerily intuitive understanding of the game.

»Rondo’s amazing pass to Ray Allen for three > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DiQsCI25AI
»Rondo’s very own vanishing drive (with misdirection) > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80EVb7HNa6o








X player reaches, Chris Paul teaches. If there was ever a player that would be toted for seeing the future Chris Paul would be it. His ball-handling finesse allows him to dribble past defenders in a way that would seem almost precognitive, and his gifted hands allow him to pick at opponents and accumulate a large amount of steals as well. Chris Paul is a generational talent, arguably a top 5 pure point guard of all time with games like 20 points, 20 assists and absolutely zero turnovers, which is exceedingly impressive, never before done feat. The most ironic thing about this comparison is that Akashi is described as someone who has never in his life lost before, whereas Chris Paul is often criticized for never coming even close to winning an NBA championship. So in terms of winning and losing the two couldn’t be more farther apart.

»Chris Paul absolutely annihilates Brewer’s ankles > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amXFRhJud-I
»Chris Paul breaks more ankles > https://streamable.com/8poa2
»Paul nutmegs defender > https://streamable.com/xgp30





This one requires basically 0 explanation. Midorima has literally has “unlimited range” and Curry has, in hyperbolic terms, “unlimited range” as well. There’s literally no point explaining this; the video evidence is more than enough. They both even have ridiculous arcs on their shots.

»Curry game winning 3 from nearly half court > https://streamable.com/de7i
»Curry fucking half court shot compilation >
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOROO63Xrpc
»Curry shows off his high arcing 3 > https://streamable.com/6lmpw





An all-rounded, historically narcissistic character that improved every year and prioritized winning over anything else? Kobe Bryant it is. This was hard to compare because there isn’t really an NBA player that copies others moves all the time, but Kobe is by far the closest to that. Taking signature moves from Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki and integrating them into his own repertoire allowed him to dominate the game for nearly 2 whole decades. There are even anecdotes about how Kobe used to watch animal documentaries and integrate hunting strategies used by apex predators into his game. Early in Kobe’s career to he was a lot more focused on shooting first instead of passing up a shot, and it’s only until later into his career when he matured more when he began to trust his teammates and understand that is the true way to be a champion.

»Kobe’s signature fadeaway (a result of blending Nowtizki and MJ’s moves) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk5o2PK76hs





While Kagami Taiga was constantly noted for his otherworldly jumping abilities, Aomine Daiki was noted for his otherworldly speed and ability to change his pace at will. And even more so than that, it was his explosive talent that he just constantly exuded. A seemingly unbeatable specimen that proved to you with impossible and acrobatic finishes at the rim that no matter how hard you try, you’re not going to even come close to him. Derrick Rose is the epitome of this; ferrari-like explosiveness, and a basically supernatural ability to finish shots at the rim that are nothing but disheartening for the opposing team. While Derrick Rose’s career has effectively fallen off a cliff since his prime MVP years, he was once just like Aomine Daiki.

»Derrick Rose showcases his explosive speed > https://streamable.com/f2rcj
»Rose finishes impossible layup mid-air > https://streamable.com/tvd6i
»Rose “will not lose” > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd3mxCQlve4




This is one of the easiest comparisons I drew. Atsushi's physical attributes were constantly described with 3 things, 1) Always the tallest player on the court, 2) Not just tall, but with an extremely long wingspan allowing him to affect all sorts of shots, and 3) exceedingly fast reflexes allowing him to quickly react to a variety of shots by his opponents. With only these three things in mind, Wilt Chamberlain is the most obvious counterpart. Chamberlain towered at 7'1 with a terrifying 7'6 wingspan as well, and while he played over half a dozen decades ago, there has never been a player that tall move as fast as he did. Chamberlain was a dominant defender, but like Atsushi, it wasn't the best part of his game. There's a quote within the show where Kuroko describes how Atsushi's offensive game is far superior to his defensive one, and how he's even managed to score a record 100 points in a game. Well, Wilt Chamberlain has the NBA record for most points scored in a game at... you guessed it, 100 points.


»Wilt blocks a 13 foot shot > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF8yJ1J1W7Q
»Collection of Wilt denying blocks > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDuJigqTQyI




Thanks for reading my blog post, I had way too many ideas pop into my head while I was watching the show so I couldn't really help myself. If you have any comments on the comparisons or anything like that, feel free to leave a comment on my profile.