Fans of the NBA have come to know Stephen A. Smith as a bold analyst, who doesn’t hesitate to publicly voice his opinion. While this has made him very noticeable and influential, it has also given him a controversial and polarizing image. Everything that he says is closely scrutinized and widely discussed, and he recently earned the ire of the Dragon Ball community.

On 1st March 2024, Akira Toriyama, the genius behind the Dragon Ball manga series, suffered an acute subdural hematoma, which eventually led to his death. News broke of Toriyama’s passing yesterday. Dragon Ball is considered one of the most sacred series in the anime community and has also inspired several other mangakas to develop their own stories. Since then, Toriyama’s family has received an overwhelming amount of love and support, with NBA star Joel Embiid among those publicly expressing tribute to the legendary manga artist. Even Stephen A. Smith paid tribute to Toriyama via his X account and wrote, “RIP Akira Toriyama.”

However, while answering his tweet also carried a video where he answered a question posted by a fan. This led to Smith accidentally butchering the pronunciation of the popular Dragon Ball Z character, Vegeta. Fans of the series didn’t spare Stephen A. Smith, as they slandered his Dragon Ball Z knowledge. Smith admitted in the video that he had never read or watched the Dragon Ball series. Despite this, die-hard fans of the comic still trolled Smith relentlessly.

Fans relentlessly troll Stephen A. Smith

Fans of Dragon Ball Z didn’t forgive Stephen A. Smith for his botched pronunciation of Vegeta. Following this major mishap, fans ruthlessly trolled Smith. While Smith said in the video that he liked the name of Goku better, a fan pointed out something else.

Taking a rather humorous jibe, one of the fans commented on how the footage got recorded in the first place.

Fans also commented how Stephen A. Smith just jumped on the Dragon Ball bandwagon and tried to chase a trend.

However, not everyone was against the analyst. In fact, many even considered it a rookie mistake.

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Lastly, one of the DBZ fans also looked on the brighter side of things.

Are you a Dragon Ball or an anime fan? Did the mispronunciation of Vegeta’s name bother you as well? Pour your thoughts down in the comments.

Read More: Stephen A. Smith Apologizes to LeBron James on ESPN Live After Expletive Remarks Over Bronny Saga