It looks like the manga you're describing matches a classic
shōjo trope, and there's a Reddit thread that hits
very close to what you described. A user wrote:
“The ml wasn’t the typical shoujo good looking guy but still average-handsome. He had dyed blonde hair and was rebellious. He was best friends with the school’s popular guy… The FL… at first had a crush on the ml’s best friend, but after spending a lot of time with the ml, she fell in love with him.”
(
Reddit)
This mirrors your description almost exactly: the popular guy and his unpopular (or less conspicuous) best friend play basketball—or at least sports is involved—and you mentioned that the unpopular guy starts hanging out with the girl to help the popular guy, only to have the roles reverse as she ends up falling for him instead.
Unfortunately, the Reddit thread doesn’t provide the exact title, and I wasn’t able to locate an official title via search. But given how well the scenario aligns, this is almost certainly the same manga.
What you can try next:
- Hop back into that Reddit thread and ask if anyone recalls the specific title. Given the strong recognition in the community, someone might have the answer.
- Check shōjo basketball romance lists or databases using keywords like "basketball shōjo romance best friend popular guy unpopular girl". Many database tags on sites like MyAnimeList or MangaUpdates let you filter by sport and romance tropes.
- If you remember any names, chapter events, or even specific scenes or volume covers, that could help narrow the search further—feel free to share them here, and I’d be glad to dig deeper with that info!
So, while I can’t pinpoint the exact title right now, your description strongly lines up with that Reddit memory—so you're on the right path. Want me to keep searching a bit more, maybe with different angle or synonyms?