Taiga Kagami (火神 大我 Kagami Taiga) is the deuteragonist of the Kuroko no Basket series as well as the ace and power forward of Seirin High. He is Tetsuya Kuroko's basketball colleague and friend. He is determined to defeat Kiseki no Sedai and become the best in Japan.
Kagami is very muscular for a high school student. He is very tall, which gives him an overwhelming aura, which some say is like the intensity of a wild tiger.He has two toned deep red-and-black hair and red eyes. His eyes are pointed and narrow and his eyebrows are quite thick and split in two, which Murasakibara does not fail to remark. He wears the red, black and white Seirin High jersey with the number 10 and wears black and red basketball shoes. He is also occasionally seen with a shiny metal necklace with a ring on it, that represents his friendship with Tatsuya Himuro. When he is seen in his school uniform, he keeps his gakuran unzipped, while wearing a white shirt underneath.
Kagami is very ambitious, stubborn and determined. He refuses to give up in a difficult situation and he is also very head strong. He is well known for his undying and furious fighting spirit. Kagami enjoys to play against strong opponents and sees no point in playing basketball when there are no strong opponents; which was evident when Kagami faced Kuroko Tetsuya for the first time. The down-side of this, is that he is also very hot-headed and has a short temper.
When Kuroko brought Tetsuya #2 to the training, it is revealed that Kagami is scared of dogs. This fear originates from his time in America, where he was once bitten by a dog. He overcame this fear when he realized that Tetsuya #2 is a good motivation for the team and he pet it. He is also a glutton and is able to eat at least five times a normal meal. He is shown to be a great cook when Riko Aida tried to cook for the team to save money, but ended up almost killing everyone with her food. So Kagami cooked instead and taught Riko how to cook too.
During the series, and especially after the Interhigh and during the Winter Cup, Kagami matured a lot. Instead of going up against every provocation and becoming hot-headed quickly, he thinks before he acts and has developed some sort of hindsight that lets him simulate a possible one-on-one battle. Even though that he still hates losing, he has somewhat took peace with it. Now, he has become a much more clever player that doesn't plunge into battles without thinking first.
In third grade, Kagami moved to the States and attended school there. He had a hard time making friends because of his foreign appearance, but he met Tatsuya Himuro, who invited him to play street basketball with him. Kagami accepted and made his first friend. Kagami, who was still a beginner back then, admired Himuro's talent in basketball and how he made friends through basketball. When he asked Himuro how to make friends, Himuro told him it came because of basketball, and asked Kagami to play basketball, while allowing Himuro to train him. So after a while, Himuro taught him a lot and Kagami quickly improved, while making many friends along the way. Himuro and Kagami grew closer to each other, and Kagami saw Himuro as an older brother. In an act of kindness, Himuro bought two rings, gave one to Kagami, and told him that those rings were the proof that they were brothers.
Not long after, the two asked Alexandra Garcia, a retired WNBA-player who spent her time at betting courts, if she could train them. Alex reluctantly accepted and was annoyed by them at first, but as her two pupils got more and more enthusiastic, Alexandra began to enjoy teaching them.
Three years later, because Himuro was one year older than Kagami, Himuro graduated before him. They lost contact with each other for some time, until they reunited one year later. Kagami was seen playing basketball and he was invited by some boys to play with their team. They told him he'd be of great value in the competition against another team, with the winner getting the court. The boys tell him that the other team recently got a strong player and Kagami is interested. He decides to join their match and is amazed when he sees Himuro there. Himuro tells hims to play fair and square, hinting that he shouldn't go easy just because they know each other. Kagami agrees and he wins against Himuro for the first time.
After that, they played every week and they each lost and won the same amount. After 98 games, Himuro tells Kagami that if he loses the next game, he won't see Kagami as his little brother anymore, because the big brother is always stronger than the little brother. In the 99th game, Kagami finds out that Himuro has injured his wrist. Himuro shoots, misses and Kagami runs for the fast break. He goes up for the lay-up, but couldn't bear to win against Himuro and misses on purpose.
After the game, Himuro punches Kagami. He tells him that the next match, they'll bet on the ring that represents their friendship. He says to treat the previous game as a draw. And tells him that when he loses the next time, he will have to pretend that they never were friends. But before they had a rematch, Kagami flew back to Japan, not seeing Himuro again for 2 years and at the same time stopping his training with Alexandra early.
Kagami is first introduced at Seirin High School's opening ceremony, when he walked in on Koganei and brought him back to the basketball booth. He fills in a registration paper but doesn't write his future goals. When Riko asks him about that, he simply says that Japanese basketball is easy, and leaves.
On the first training, he is seen standing with the other Seirin players. Riko orders them to take off their shirts and she uses her Scanning Ability to examine their bodies. When she arrives at Kagami, she sees that his stats are exceptionally high and is very impressed. So impressed, that she even drools at the sight of his muscles. Riko gets her act together and doesn't see Kuroko anywhere. Kuroko reveals himself and Kagami is very surprised to see a supposed member of Kiseki no Sedai who looks this weak.
After the training, Kagami goes to a fast-food and orders around 15 hamburgers before sitting at Kuroko's table, without noticing him. Kuroko frightens him and Kagami asks what he is doing here. Kuroko replies that he is just watching people. This is due to Kuroko's lack of presence, later on Kagami asks him to tag along somewhere, when he finishes his food.
Kuroko and Kagami go to an empty basketball court and Kagami explains that he's searching for strong basketball players in Japan. He tells Kuroko that he knows he's from Kiseki no Sedai team and asks what he is hiding. He challenges Kuroko to a one-on-one, because he wants to see for himself. Kuroko accepts. When Kagami and Kuroko play, Kagami sees that Kuroko is desperately weak. He thinks that Kuroko is still hiding something, but Kuroko denies this, saying that he knows Kagami is stronger than him. Kuroko tells Kagami that he only agreed to play to see Kagami's strength. Kagami gets ready to leave, saying he won't play weak guys. He tells Kuroko that he should just quit basketball. Kuroko refuses and reveals his true fighting spirit. He says that his strength is different than Kagami's strength, saying that he is a shadow.
On the next training, Riko suggests a match, the freshmen against the second-years. Kagami motivates the team by saying that he'd rather play against strong opponents than weak ones. The match begins and Kagami immediately dunks. The match goes on to 11 - 8, with only Kagami scoring. Meanwhile, when Kuroko has the ball, it gets stolen right away. Kagami is very irritated about Kuroko's weakness. After Kagami blocks a shot, the second-years decide to shut him up and triple-team him when he's on the ball. Even when he's not in possession of the ball, he is still guarded by two men. Kagami can't move freely anymore and the first-years fall back to 15 – 31. Furihata and the other freshmen don't see anymore hope for them, but Kagami gets mad and yells that they haven't lost yet. Kuroko suddenly appears behind him, gives him a knee bump and calms him down. In a way...
Kuroko then starts showing his true colors and commences his invisible passes. Kagami is amazed by Kuroko's talent and eventually gets the ball and makes another shot. From there onwards, Kuroko can connect his passes to Kagami and the first-years catch up the score. In the last play, Kuroko steals the ball and drives it up court. He goes for the lay-up, but misses. Kagami suddenly grabs the ball and dunks it in, closing the game with the freshmen's win.
After training, Kagami meets Kuroko in the Maji Burger. Kagami throws him one of his burgers, as a sign of sleight respect. They go outside together and Kagami asks Kuroko about Kiseki no Sedai. Kuroko tells him that he is nowhere near their level. He also informs Kagami that one of them will most likely be on top soon. Kagami decides that he will beat them all and become the best player in Japan. Kuroko is skeptical and says that it's impossible. Impossible, unless Kuroko helps Kagami get there. He makes a vow as well, to make Kagami the best in Japan. Kagami agrees with their mutual goal.
The next morning, Kagami is practicing on his own at a street ball court and is thinking about the GoM and how strong they really are. He gets fired up and can't wait to play in a match. At school, Kagami asks Hyūga if he can play in a match, but Hyūga redirects him to Riko. Kagami bursts into Riko's classroom and scares her by suddenly asking if he can join the basketball club for real. Riko tells him she met Kuroko earlier and accepts his request. But before Kagami can leave, she tells him that she will only truly accepts his application next Monday, 8:40 am on the school's rooftop. Kagami leaves and passes a cabinet where an article is displayed about Seirin's basketball club last year's results. He stands still and mumbles that the story is actually amazing. Kuroko suddenly appears besides him and responds, freaking Kagami the hell out. Kagami yells at Kuroko and becomes violent. He thinks by himself that it's strange that such a legendary player joined a no-name school like Seirin but before he can ask Kuroko, Kuroko already left the scene unnoticed.
The next Monday morning, Kagami, Kuroko and the other freshmen are greeted by Riko on the school's rooftop. It turns out that Riko wants to test the new players and she makes them shout their goal and resolve from the rooftop to the hordes of students down below. Kagami is unfazed and leaps onto the fence, to the surprise of Riko. He yells out his name, class and shouts that he will defeat Kiseki no Sedai and become the number one in Japan. Shortly after, the group is caught and lectured by the school principle, again like the previous year. Later that evening, Kagami encounters Kuroko at his fastfood restaurant, where he is told that since Kuroko wasn't able to fulfill the requirements on the rooftop, Kuroko is worried that he won't be able to join. Kagami reassures him that he can join anyway and asks him why he didn't join a well known basketball team instead of Seirin. He wonders what Kuroko's motive is to play basketball. Kuroko tells him that Teikō Junior High was a team that only cared about victory and that he has found something in Seirin that he missed, some sort of ambition, and that he now only strives to help Seirin and Kagami the best he can. The next day, Kagami sees that Kuroko has written a message on the school's track ground, his way of registering in the basketball club. Kagami is pleased.
As the Seirin High team was gathering to leave for the Winter Cup preliminaries, Kagami is seen playing with a ball with his left hand. Furihata says that his left hand got a lot better and Kagami replies that he had trained it a lot, even by eating with only his left hand. Furihata also notices that Kagami still can't sleep before a match, by looking at Kagami's red and bloodshot eyes.
At the Winter Cup, Seirin's best of 4 determination match is about to begin and Kagami is a starter. The match commences and Kagami lines up for the jump ball. some time in the game, Josei High is leading with 8 points and Kagami is shown to be completely stuck with two players guarding him at all times. Kagami gets his ball stolen and can't do a lot during the match. Kiyoshi takes the initiative and gets the points and Kuroko is eventually able to pass his Ignite Pass to Kagami on the other side of the court and Kagami jumps so high that he hits his forehead on the rim. The first quarter ends and Kagami is dragged to the bench.
During the latter part of the match, Kagami is still guarded by two men and his frustration is piling up. He is put to his senses by Kuroko, who points out that Imayoshi and Sakurai from Touou are watching and that Kagami should show something good. Kagami agrees and when he gets the ball, he sees the demotivated defense and breaks through. He is immediatly guarded by Narumi, but that is useless, as Kagami jumps from the freethrow line and dunks the ball. This extraordinary feat, the lane-up, brings Kagami closer to Kiseki no Sedai and breaks an imaginary gate of the geniuses. While dunking the ball, Kagami loses his balance and falls on his back. Kuroko helps him up and the match eventually ends with Seirin's win.
As the Seirin team is leaving the WC building, Kuroko and Kagami stay behind. They go to a street basketball court. Kuroko asks if Kagami can be his practice partner for his new Vanishing Drive. Kagami lines up for defense and Kuroko suddenly passes him. Although the ball does slip from his hand, Kagami is amazed and admits that his new drive is unstoppable. He grabs Kuroko's ball and notices that it's completely slippery and worn out. Kuroko says that it's the sixth ball already and Kagami is impressed by Kuroko's intensive training.
Final League
The next day, the final league commences. Seirin plays against Senshinkan High and overwhelms them with their growth over the past months. The match is dominated by Seirin and in the last play of the match, Buckypaper Kuroko uses his invisible pass to reach Kagami under the basket. Kagami jumps and scores a powerful monster dunk. He ends the match with Seirin's win
As the rest of Seirin was training in the mountains with Kagetora, Kagami went back to America in order to meet his old basketball master, Alexandra Garcia. While in America, Alexandra gave him the assignment to play gambling basketball for one week. The bet for each match was 10 dollars and his starting money was also 10 dollars, forcing Kagami to win from the bat. Alexandra explains that he has to play like his life depends on it (because it probably will). Kagami played against gangsters and thugs for money to regain his animal instinct. Kagami played basketball in the States to train his animal instinct and when reaching that, his five senses will be heightened as well as his reflexes, speed and his jumping ability will be brought to the extreme. After that week, Alexandra trained him personally.
When the Winter Cup started, he forgot about the time difference between the US and Japan and missed the opening ceremony. He re-appears when Kuroko is meeting with Kiseki no Sedai. He stands up for Furihata when he was told to go away by Akashi. Akashi approaches and attacks Kagami with Midorima's scissors.Kagami dodges at the last moment. Akashi lets him off the hook, but threatens to end his life if Kagami disobeys him again. It is seen that Akashi's scissors grazed Kagami's face, bleeding a bit. Akashi later leaves.
Kagami is seen in the locker room before the match against Touou Academy. Kuroko tells him it's time and looks worried about him. Kagami says that it's fine, that he was only shocked about Akashi but that he is only thinking about Aomine, and nothing else. The match begins and both players enter the court. Kagami encounters Aomine and he senses that Kagami has gotten better. Kagami agrees, telling him that he got a little better.
The match begins with the tip-off and Seirin gains the ball. Izuki dribbles the ball up fast and Seirin prepares for a fast and strong offensive, but a strong defensive Touou awaits them. The ball gets stolen and Aomine eventually dunks the first point. Meanwhile, Kagami has just arrived at the basket and is taunted by Aomine. Kagami brings the ball back in the game by passing to Izuki. The ball goes to Kuroko and he uses his new Ignite Pass Kai and is able to pass to Kiyoshi, who goes for the dunk. However, Wakamatsu appears and almost blocks Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi is still able to pass behind him to Kagami, who suddenly dunks and repays Aomine's favor.
Touou outruns Seirin and Kagami receives the ball, going up against Aomine the first time since the Interhigh. Kagetora understands that the outcome of this one-on-one will determine the flow of the match and that Kagami must absolutely win. Kagami keeps standing still, but battles Aomine in his head, using a high-level tactical battle. In this simulation, Kagami drives to the basket, makes a cut and loses Aomine for an instant, but Aomine is still able to steal the ball when Kagami pulls up for the shot. Back to reality, Kagami senses that he will lose if he goes up against Aomine now and passes the ball to Izuki. He concludes that he can't beat Aomine, yet.
The match goes on with the shoot-off between Hyūga and Sakurai and Seirin goes into the second quarter with a tie. Kuroko decides to use his Vanishing Drive on Aomine and Kagami helps him by screening Kuroko's guard, Susa. As always with the Vanishing Drive, Kagami directs the attention of Aomine to him while Kuroko drives past him. When the drive and later the Ignite Pass Kai both fail against Aomine, Kagami tries to block him, but Aomine shoots besides him and scores. Seirin takes a time-out and while Kuroko is subbed out and is feeling despair, Kagami tells him that his effort wasn't futile, that he will handle Aomine untill Kuroko comes back.
While stepping back on the court, Kagami is thinking that this time, he will save Kuroko instead of otherwise. In the first play, Kagami passes to Kiyoshi. Aomine is dissapointed, but Kagami tells him he has no intention of running away. Touou's offense and Aomine carries the ball. He prepares for his infamous change of pace, but Kagami suddenly dives forward and goes for the ball, in an attempt to steal it. Aomine pulls it back just in time and passes Kagami. He pulls up for a shot, but Kagami reacts quickly and jumps behind Aomine for the ball. Because of Kuroko's absence, he was able to unleash his true power and he slams the ball away.
Seeing an awakened Kagami, Aomine aknowledges him and starts to get serious. He speeds up, but Kagami can still keep up. Aomine then bounces the ball through Kagami's legs, high up in the air. Aomine amazes everyone when he takes the ball from Wakamatsu and scores with his back turned to the ring. In Seirin's offense, Kagami gets the ball and takes Koga's screen. He dribbles to the right, but Aomine shifts past Koga and is right on Kagami's tail. Kagami sees this, does a crossover to the left and takes off for the shot in front of Koga. He dodges Aomine's block and scores the shot. He later says to Koga that his screen wasn't really necessary and that he should take Aomine on his own.
Back in Touou's offense, Aomine goes for his infamous formless shot, with Kagami jumping in front of him. The ball was supossedly out of Kagami's reach, but his new strength enables him to block Touou's ace on his full power shot. Kagami finally begins to surpass Aomine. He later taunts Aomine that he doesn't mind entertaining him, if he has that wide of a margin.
The match goes on with face-off after face-off between Kagami and Aomine, with Aomine almost breaking through, but Kagami's defense stays steady. He amazes everyone in the audience with his strength and especially the other Generation of Sedai. The reason why Kagami is able to keep up with Aomine's top speed is because he is only relying on his animal, raw instinct. Not only against Aomine, Kagami is also dominating in rebounds.
When Kagami grabs another rebound, Seirin's fastbreak begins. He passes the ball to Izuki, who passes it back at the other side of the court. Kagami goes up against Aomine and surprisingly takes off for a shot. His stance is similar to Aomine's formless shot and the shot takes off, but only for Aomine to graze the ball for an instant. The ball flies towards the goal, bounces off the board, circles around in the ring and flies out. Half-time is reached and Seirin is only two points behind.
During half-time, Kagami seeks for Kuroko and finds him outside. He throws him a vest for warmth. He urges Kuroko to get back inside, but Kuroko asks Kagami if he enjoys basketball. Kuroko then tells Kagami his history with Aomine and Teikō and how they became friends. He concludes with telling Kagami that he really wants to see Aomine smile again. Kagami says that it's not sure that he'll change if they win, but that winning gives a better shot than losing.
The third quarter begins and Touou starts its attack. Aomine gets the ball with Kagami guarding him. Aomine immediately speeds up and is even faster than before. He drives past Kagami. Kuroko then jumps in front and gets an offensive foul out of Aomine. Kagami helps him up and thanks him. After Kuroko gets sealed by Imayoshi, Aomine challenges him to a second round of their duel.
Because of Kuroko's and the upperclassmen's inability to act, Kagami decides to do it himself. But before he can, he feels angst from an image of defeat earlier on in the game. In that moment, Aomine lunges forward and steals the ball. He drives towards the basket and Kagami catches up after Aomine had to pass Hyūga. Aomine goes for the dunk, but spins around his axis past Kagami and dunks it. As Aomine walks ahead, Kagami does not feel fear or frustration, but a pure feeling of respect and admiration, since Aomine has reached the highest point of basketball skills.
Seirin High has reached the point where it has exhausted all its options and is likely to lose. But then Kuroko activates his Misdirection Overflow and gives his teammates the possibility to use the Vanishing Drive. After Izuki and Hyūga, Kagami does it too, against Aomine, successfully and dunks. The third quarter ends with an 11-point difference and at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Aomine goes up against Kagami with a smile... Yet again, Aomine triumphs and scores. Kagami is troubled about how to stop Aomine, but Hyūga sets him at ease by telling him that the current restraint is good as well. During Touou's next attack, Aomine gets the ball from Sakurai, does a fast crossover and passes Kagami. He later gets a three-point play due to a foul by Kiyoshi. Kuroko then asks Kagami and Kiyoshi to triple-team Aomine.
Defeated Nakamiya South with a score of 83-77, Kagami and Kuroko were on the bench for the whole game.
Defeated Morizono North with a score of 87-82, Kagami and Kuroko came out of the bench during the last 57 seconds of the fourth quarter and led Seirin to victory.
In the quarter-finals, Seirin face Yōsen who has the best defense and completely prevented their opponents from scoring. At tip off, Murasakibara easily outjumps Kiyoshi but this is overruled by the referee as he jumped before the ball reached it's maximum height. The ball is given to Seirin who begins a quick series of passes. Hyūga then pulls up for a shot but Murasakibara blocks him showing his fast reflexes. Seirin gets the offensive rebound and Kuroko throws a long lateral pass to Kagami who is open. However, Murasakibara blocks him and Masako notes that not only is he big and fast, but also has a huge wingspan. She added that the entire area inside the three point arc is 'his domain'.
Yōsen scores the first basket but Kuroko quickly makes a Cyclone Pass to Izuki who runs up the court. But Murasakibara who is not participating in the offense was there so he chose to regroup. Murasakibara then rebounds the ball after a missed shot by Hyūga over Kiyoshi and Kagami and passes the ball ahead. With 15 seconds left in the quarter, Himuro (Fukui in the anime) rushes a shot but Kagami slightly touches the ball and made it miss. Kiyoshi saves the last rebound for Seirin using his Vise Claw. The score is 18 - 0 for Yōsen.
In the second quarter, Yōsen went to give the final blow for Seirin. Izuki is double-teamed and he passes the ball to Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi attempts to lose Murasakibara with a spin move but Murasakibara is still there to block. Instead he passes the ball underhand to Kagami for an alley-oop. However, Murasakibara still managed to block Kagami because he didn’t need to jump for the first thus enabling him to block Kagami. But before the ball could be swatted out of his hand, he passed the ball to an open Kuroko who scores for the first time with his Phantom Shot. Murasakibara is surprised because he thought Kuroko couldn’t shoot.
In Yōsen’s offense, Kagami is having difficulty defending Okamura under the basket due to their height and weight difference. Okamura provokes him that ‘he forgot he was there since he’s so light. Kiyoshi then tells him to lower his waist but replies that he’s doing that. He asks Kiyoshi if there is something else and Kiyoshi only replies that ‘he’s tall so be careful’ and as long as he remembers those two things, he won’t lose with his strength. Having realized what he has forgotten, Kagami lowers his waist more surprising Okamura. Unable to move him, Okamura turns around but Kagami blocks him this time. Sometime when Yosen misses a shot, Kiyoshi outrebounds Wei Liu with his Vise Claw leading to a break and Kuroko once again scoring with his Phantom Shot over Murasakibara. The quarter ends with a score of 29 -17 still in favor of Yōsen.
Since Kuroko will likely be benched, Riko and Masako comes to the conclusion that the important matchups will be between Kagami and Himuro and Kiyoshi and Murasakibara. Before the match resumes, Kuroko bump fist to Kagami and Kiyoshi leaving it to them.
The third quarter begins with the ball for Yōsen. Himuro receives the ball and is guarded by Kagami. Kagami apologizes for the wait and says to take it seriously now. Himuro replies that he’s relieved but he’ll be the winner. Himuro fakes and Kagami fell for it but Hyuga was there to help. However, Himuro shoots with a jump-stop and scores leaving Kagami and Hyuga stunned. In Yōsen’s next offense, it’s Himuro against Kagami again. Himuro tells him that he still sees him as a big brother and pulls up for a Mirage Shot from three point. Kagami jumps to block but surprisingly the ball went through the block and falls into the hoop. Himuro tells him that they’re enemies and to come at him seriously. Kagami is then subbed to Tsuchida.
Kiyoshi comments that the bad thing about Kagami is that he can’t feelings and game separate and that he’s too caring. While at the bench, he asks Kuroko a favor – to throw away the ring that he’s always wearing. Kuroko asks if it’s fine to throw away the memories with Himuro but Kagami replies that it’s fine because having it only represents guilt and it’s in the past with Himuro and the future is with them. Kuroko replies that he will no longer lose to anyone. Kagami is then put back into the game and tells Himuro that he won’t mess around anymore. Kagami then guards him using Aomine’s natural posture in defending. Himuro fakes but Kagami doesn’t fall but fakes a drive again stepping back then shoots. But Kagami got close enough and finally blocks him saying that he’s just getting started. Izuki then saves the ball and passes it to Kagami then rushes to Murasakibara on the other end. Kagami tries to make a shot but Murasakibara blocks him. Even though he blocked Kagami, Murasakibara realized that he was trying a new shot that went wrong.
The ball goes back to Seirin with Kiyoshi playing PG but is triple-teamed by Okamura, Wei Liu and Fukui leading to a turnover. Himuro leads the break but Kagami is there to defend him. Himuro pulls up for a shot but Kagami grazes the ball enough to make it miss though he slipped because of sweat and jumped a little later. This is how he discovered the secret behind the Mirage Shot. He rebounds the ball then passes to ball to Kiyoshi who is triple-teamed again. Kiyoshi then passes to Izuki who is forced to shoot a three pointer the fact that Murasakibara will get to him very fast. Izuki missed the shot but Kiyoshi manages to outjump Murasakibara from behind for a putback slam. After that, Kiyoshi suddenly fell reaching his limit but refused to be subbed out. Then Hyuga manages to intercept a pass and passes it to Kiyoshi who passes it to Izuki who confronts Murasakibara along with Mitobe and Kagami. Instead Izuki passes it back to Kiyoshi who broke free, thanks to Hyuga’s screen. Kiyoshi misses the shot but Mitobe gave all his strength to box Murasakibara out of position leading to a putback slam by Kagami.
This move finally enrages Murasakibara who decided to participate in the offense and "wring out everthing". Murasakibara posts up Kiyoshi but is helped by Hyuga and Mitobe. However, he pushes the three of them easily then performs his Thor’s Hammer dunk throwing the three of them. But Seirin weren’t shaken as Kiyoshi quickly throws a pass to Izuki to counter. But Murasakibara is already behind him. Izuki passes the ball back to Kiyoshi who is challenged by Murasakibara. Kiyoshi pulls up for a shot but Murasakibara blocks him and swats the ball away when he tried to turn it into a pass leading to a fastbreak. Murasakibara jumps for an alley-oop from Fukui and dunks on Kagami, also bringing the hoop down. After the replacement of the hoop, Murasakibara continues to overpower Seirin in OF or DF especially Kiyoshi who has reached his limit.
Murasakibara dribbles from end to end but Kagami and Kiyoshi are already there to defend. However, Murasakibara dunks on the two of them leaving Kiyoshi unable to stand on his own. Murasakibara then ‘helps’ Kiyoshi once again breaking his morale angering Kagami. Kuroko is subbed in for Kiyoshi. In Seirin’s offense Kuroko tries to go for a Phantom Shot but Murasakibara moves to block the path of the ball. Instead he alley-oops the ball to Kagami who dunks and scores. Then, Kuroko forces Murasakibara to commit an offensive foul sending him sprawling to the floor. After that, Seirin used their All Coat Man to Man Defense to enable Kuroko intercept passes and score. But Izuki’s last shot didn’t count as the buzzer sounds before he released the ball. The quarter ends with a score 47 – 43 still in favor of Yōsen.
At the break, Kagami requested that he’ll be the center and will cover all the two point areas just like Murasakibara. Riko tells him to just take care of Himuro outside but Kagami simply replies “Come who may come, I’ll stop them” for Kiyoshi. Though reluctant, Riko agrees.
The last quarter begins with Kagami telling Himuro that he won’t hold back which Himuro replies that obviously, they finish this. It’s Yōsen’s ball and Kagami plays center. Fukui suddenly throws an alley-oop pass to Murasakibara dunking it on Kagami. Murasakibara tells him to stop hallucinating if he thinks he can stop him all by himself. Kagami replies that even if he can’t move Murasakibara, he will stop him anyway he can. In Yōsen’s next offense, Kagami goes up against Himuro who fakes past him but stops when he saw Kuroko. Kagami then goes up against Himuro again for a Mirage Shot. Having remembered his discovery with secret of the shot, Kagami plans to jump a little later to block it but Himuro releases it the first shot and scores. Himuro asserts that no one can stop the Mirage Shot.
The difference is starting to grow again and Kagami is thinking how he’ll enter the zone. When Murasakibara swats the ball away from him with a block, he is rebuked by Kise. Mesmerized, Kagami resolves to do what he can with his actual abilities. Seirin calls a time-out and Kagami is tasked to guard the painted area only. He admits that equalling with Murasakibara is impossible and apologizes. The match resumes and Kagami continues to endure inside with Yōsen scoring. But they notice that something is different in Kagami than before. With Murasakibara for the final dunk, Kagami blocks him who had finally the entered the zone.
When Himuro fakes past the triple-team, he pulls up again for a Mirage Shot but Kagami jumps to block him in the first shot. However, it seems like Kagami is floating because he was still able to block the second one shocking Himuro who can’t help but think that he’s like a bird. On Seirin’s counter, Kagami calls for the ball from Kuroko and makes a three pointer. Murasakibara then calls for the ball and is about to dunk it with his full-powered Thor’s Hammer but is blocked again by Kagami bringing him down to his knees. Kagami apologizes to Murasakibara that ‘he was a little too strong’ angering Murasakibara. Kagami in the zone continues to dominate the game. He was also able to copy fakes like Himuro’s but better than a mere copy and passes Himuro to confront Murasakibara again. Suddenly, he jumped from the free throw line to perform the Air Walk of Michael Jordan. Yōsen calls a time-out. After the time-out, Seirin wonders if there was a fight but Kagami replies that it’s exactly the opposite.
The game resumes with Himuro breaking free from the triple team with Okamura’s screen and fakes past Kuroko only to be confronted by Kagami again who jumps to block his shot. Himuro finally acknowledging his loss to their promised battle asserts that they will still win choosing to pass the ball instead of shooting.
Murasakibara who is about to dunk saw Kagami coming and instead passed the ball back to Himuro who scores inside. Kagami this time requests to play PG and receives the ball but passes the ball back to Izuki when he is on the verge of being double-teamed. Izuki goes for a shot but he knew Murasakibara is there so he tossed the ball backwards for an alley-oop with Kagami. Both teams continue to dominate each others’ DF with Seirin trailing a little. Kiyoshi returns to the game.
Sometime when Himuro tries to go for a shot, Kagami jumps to block him but instead passes the ball to Murasakibara under the basket. He is about to dunk but saw Kagami coming again, passing the ball back to Himuro. The matchup shifts up between Kiyoshi and Himuro. Himuro says that only Kagami can stop him and pulls up for a Mirage Shot. But Kiyoshi faked jumping for the first and instead backed down for Hyuga to block the second one leading to a break. Kagami tries to fadeaway but misses but Kiyoshi gets the offensive rebound using Vise Claw then passes to Hyuga who made a three pointer bringing them with only one point deficit.
However, Murasakibara surprisingly entered the zone with only 20 seconds remaining. During the next play, Himuro receives the ball by Okamura then fakes past Hyuga. He passes the the ball to Murasakibara when Kagami jumps to block him. Murasakibara is about to dunk but Kagami is fast enough to jump and block the dunk attempt. However, Murasakibara is on the verge of overpowering him in the air but Kiyoshi came to help completely blocking the dunk leading to a break. Aomine, Kise and Kagami were the ones who realized that Murasakibara had entered the zone. Kagami for the last time, goes for the Meteor Jam that Alex taught him outjumping Murasakibara and making the shot and giving them the lead. Still not giving up, Himuro throws a full court pass to Murasakibara who had already ran to the other side. Surprisingly, he wasn’t able to jump because Kiyoshi playing PG forced him to jump continuously and it’s what his knees can only handle. However, his height and distance from the basket is enough for him to make a shot but Kuroko was there to block his last shot attempt to secure Seirin’s victory.
After the game, Kuroko tells Kagami to reconcile with Himuro which he does but ended up seeing Haizaki choke Alex and beat Himuro. Alex manages to break free by kicking but didn’t hit him. They are interrupted by Kise who threw a basketball at Haizaki and reveals that he is the former fifth player before Kise joined. After that, Kagami fails to say it but says that he’ll tell Himuro later and tells Kise not to lose. Then, he went back to watch the game between Kaijō and Fukuda Sōgō and asks Kuroko about Haizaki.
Kagami and Kuroko meet with Momoi and surprisingly, Aomine also came along. Kagami is irritated by Aomine's presence, a mutual feeling. Momoi gives Kagami a shoe box, with inside the same basketball shoes as Kagami used to wear, but with different colors. Apparently, they are Aomine's spare Jordans. Aomine says that he can have them, but only if he defeats him in a one-on-one. Kagami is destroyed, but Aomine gives him the basketball shoes anyway. Aomine explains that it's for the sake of playing against Kise, that he shouldn't be at a disadvantage because of bad shoes. Kagami accepts them. When Kagami and Kuroko arrive at the WC building, they learn of Rakuzan's line-up, with one Generation of Sedai member (Akashi), but also with three Uncrowned Kings, one of which Kagami met earlier.
The Seirin team goes to watch the first semi-finals, Rakuzan High vs Shūtoku High. At half-time, Seirin and Kaijō enter the court to warm up. Akashi comes face to face with Kagami and Kuroko and he greets Kuroko. Kagami towers before him and tells Akashi that he will definitely crush him and Kise too. Akashi replies that he certainly acknowledges his strength, but that only those who serve him are allowed to look him in the eye and gives him a warning that no one who opposes him is allowed to look down on him. He uses his Emperor Eye and presses on Kagami's shoulder, causing him to fall to the ground. Akashi leaves and Kagami is shocked.
As Rakuzan High emerge victorious, it is now time for their own match against Kaijō High. Both teams are warming up quietly, though they are burning with fighting spirit. Kasamatsu breaks the uneasiness and tells Kise to give them a greeting. Kise happily agrees and dunks a Lane-up copying Kagami. He points to Seirin that it is a declaration of war. Kagami and Kuroko return the favor by doing Lane-up Alley-oop. The match then commences. Both teams bow and Kise approaches him telling him that his previous loss is still on his mind and realizes he will do anything for basketball and for winning. Kagami bluntly calls him soft and says to get started already, grinning. At the tip-off, Kuroko uses his two trump cards immediately with the thought of getting ahead before Kise uses his Perfect Copy. However Kise sees it differently activating his Perfect Copy using Midorima's signature shot. Kise turns to Kagami and says there is no way he has gone soft.
During Seirin's next attack, Kise was able to block Hyuga's shot using Murasakibara's block. Getting the ball back, Kise tries to pull up for a half-court shot but Kiyoshi was there for a block so he fakes using Aomine's agility and change of pace to drive beside him. Kise then proceeds to the free throw line where Kagami is waiting. Kagami, yet unable to enter the zone heightens his five senses using his animal instinct. Kise does not care and uses Akashi's Emperor Eye to anklebreak Kagami. As he falls to the ground, Kise makes the next shot. Seirin is still fired up and the ball ends up with Kuroko who pulls up for his Phantom Shot. Hyuga thought Kise won't stop it since Murasakibara couldn't. But these were proven wrong as Kise combined Akashi's Emperor Eye to read the direction of the ball and Murasakibara's block to swat the ball away.
Kise continues to use Kiseki no Sedai' techniques anklebreaking Kuroko and overpowering Kiyoshi and Kagami using Thor's Hammer, the signature dunk of Murasakibara. 3 minutes in the game, and Kaijō is up by 13. Kise comments that Perfect Copy is tiring and deactivates it to reserve it's last 2 minutes for later. He says that he has completed his mission and the flow is now on his team. One of the next attack, Kagami goes up against Kise, drives and switched to a fadeaway shot. Kise is surprised but confident that it will miss and it does, knowing that Seirin is rushing too much. Later Furihata enters the court.
The focus of the match shift to a battle of point guards, Izuki vs Kasamatsu. When Kasamatsu fails to attack, he decides to pass it on Kise, once again facing Kagami. Kise copies his drive and fadeaway but because his leg is still hurting, he failed to reached the decent height of his jump and was blocked by Kagami. In the following fastbreak, Kagami reaches the basket for a dunk but suddenly gets blocked by a returned Kise. Both aces ask their respective PGs, to leave it to them. Kagami is in the offense and their showdown will decide the flow of the match. He starts his dribble with incredible speed, drives past Kise and dunks it.
Kise reflects on his first meeting with Kagami; a feeling that turned into a suspicion and now he's sure. He calls Kagami a part of GoM who chose a different path, who has this so-called "instinct". His determination to defeat Kagami grows stronger. The ball goes to Kise in the next offense, having shook off his mark with a screen and pulls up for a jumpshot but because of his injury and the fact that Kagami has avoided the screen, blocks him again. Kagami goes up against Kise again in the next Seirin's next offense and passes him with speed. A gap seems to be opening between the two aces but Kise does not give up. However Kaijō's coach, Takeuchi suddenly calls for Kise's substitution to Nakamura.
Kagami feeling bad for Kise says that they won't hold back because it's the same as looking down on them. In the next offense, Kagami gets the ball and suddenly is double-teamed by Hayakawa and Nakamura. Hyuga recognizes Nakamura as one of the top 8 defensive players last year signaling a threat and demands the ball from Kagami and passed it to Kuroko who scores with the Phantom Shot. As Kuroko was subbed out, he says that they have a reliable ace referring to Kagami who dribbled past the double team then dunking on Kobori saying that he feel like he can't lose. Kagami continues to dominate Kaijō until the match reaches halftime. The score is tied and both teams go to their respective locker rooms. Coach Riko couldn't say anything but 'attack all-out' then turns to Kagami who says that he will attack all-out. Kagami then asks Kuroko if he still has anything else up his sleeve now that the Phantom Shot has been stopped. Kuroko replies nothing but says that he'll figure something out and can't stay depressed.
The match resumes and as the game progresses, Seirin steadily increases their lead over Kaijō leading by 15 with 4 minutes left. Kise refusing to sit on the bench any longer demands to be put in until their coach finally gives in. Kise is finally put into the match along with Kuroko and intimidates Kagami when their eyes meet. Kagami says that it looks like he can't let his guard down for a second. When Kise receives the ball, he hardens his resolve and activates the Perfect Copy to drive past Kagami combining Aomine's speed and Akashi's ankle breaker. He meets Kiyoshi under the basket but posterizes him with a dunk. Kuroko and Kagami attempt to make a quick counterattack by doing a Lane-up but is blocked by Kise using Aomine's speed and Murasakibara's block. Surprisingly, the ball goes back to Kise who shocks everybody by pulling off an Ignite Pass Kai and sending the ball across to Kobori. It seems that the Perfect Copy is unstoppable.
Seirin call a time-out. the match continues and Kagami takes Kise on a one-on-one but before he can dribble, Kise taps the ball out of his hands using Akashi's Emperor Eye. The ball is saved by Kuroko but Seirin can't make a play and turns it over. Kise pulls up for a shot this time copying Kuroko's Phantom Shot combined with Midorima's high arc shooting pattern and scores. Sometime later, when Kise broke free once again, Kagami pushes him behind. Kagami says that this is their show and that they decide what happens. After a time-out, Kise scores both free throws. Wanting to observe Kise's reactions, Kuroko orders Kagami to go fullpower which he does in a drive to the basket. However, Kise reacts with Aomine's speed and blocks Kagami when he makes a jump-stop and attempts to shoot it. Both teams continue to give it their all until Kise's Perfect Copy manages to bring Kaijō with a 1 point lead 40 seconds remaining on the clock.
However Seirin initiated a quick a Run & Gun offense and the ball ended up with Hyuga who was unable to shoot and instead opted for a drive. Kise using Aomine's speed rushes to guard him and reaches for the ball. Kuroko suddenly taps it out of Kise's reach towards Kagami who pulls up for a mid-range shot. Kise attempts to block it slightly grazing the ball but still went in taking the lead back. For Kaijō's next offense, Kise is the go-to-guy and grabs the ball but is shocked to see that he is guarded by Kuroko. Kise passes Kuroko using Aomine's speed. Kagami then takes Kise who performs two Akashi-style crossovers anklebreaking him and continues to drive inside. Kise then encounters Kiyoshi and Hyuga inside and is about to jump for Murasakibara's Thor's Hammer but Izuki slaps the ball out of Kise's hands using his Eagle Spear. However Kise still managed to reach the ball and passes it to an open Kasamatsu who scores and takes the lead back.
This was all part of Seirin's plan that if Kaijō scored, they plan a quick counter explaining the quick Run & Gun earlier. With seconds left, Kiyoshi throws a full court pass to Kagami who looks to have a clear path since Kise is forced underneath the basket at the other end. However Kise is still able to catch up with his speed regardless, also the fact that Kiyoshi was pressured on the throw. Kagami was initially going for a Meteor Jam, as he did against Yōsen but Kise challenges the shot. But with only a few seconds left, Kuroko calls out to Kagami who looks like he will the miss the shot because he has not perfected it outside the zone and is about to release the ball. Instead he passes the ball off the backboard bouncing towards Kuroko who scores with the Phantom Shot and made the winning buzzer beater. Kise could do nothing about it.
Kise congratulates Seirin after the game saying how surprised he was to lose to them a second time. He tells Kuroko and Kagami that they gave their all and he has no regret. They part ways and both look forward to next year.
