I like re-reading this one now and again. The basketball gets pretty crazy, compared to Slam Dunk!, but I still think of it as a spiritual successor. It's so creative, the characters stand out so well, and the back and forth between drama and comedy fuses as smoothly as chocolate and peanut butter.
Kagami vs Aomine II has got to be one of the greatest showdowns I can think of in the shounen genre, sport or otherwise, although that might partially be because I'm constantly seeing and hearing the animated version in my head whenever I read it. Watch the anime version of that game, if nothing else. It's a treat.
...although, that said, I've never actually gotten past that point. It's like... how are they ever going to top that? Ahhh, I should get on it though. They somehow managed 15 more volumes after that, maybe it'll surprise me.