A kid with a dying leg gets one last chance to stand on the court with the person he idolizes. Hanamichi stops talking trash for once and just helps him get there. The movie earns its emotional weight because it knows exactly what basketball means to someone who's about to lose it forever.

Ichiro Mizusawa played basketball at Tomigoaka, the junior high school Rukawa once attended. A crippling leg condition now threatens to take the game away from him, and he has one wish left: to share the court with Rukawa one more time. Hanamichi decides to step in and make that wish come true. Set over a hot summer, the film blends sports action with comedy, drama and slice-of-life moments as Hanamichi works to give Ichiro his last game.