ESPN Channels ‘Dragon Ball’ In New Goku Promo

Dragon Ball is more likely to have Son Goku fight Freeza than hit the court, but that doesn’t mean the Saiyan isn’t behind the game. After all, it’s no secret professional athletes have a thing for the fighter, and ESPN is honoring that legacy with a brand-new promo.

Over on Twitter, ESPN Music revealed a brand-new TV spot the network is preparing to roll out. As the NBA season gets into full swing, ESPN is ready to promote its must-see coverage, and the network is using Goku to do that.

Oh, and Jaden Smith. You can’t miss the artist’s part in this new reel.

As you can see above, the TV spot being shared montages footage from basketball games to Smith’s latest track. The song is called “GOKU”, and ESPN made sure to highlight that in this reel. In fact, the clip strictly uses the chorus lyrics from Jaden’s single, a fact that lets viewers know how much their favorite player must feel like Goku while on the court.

According to ESPN Music, the new track will be used during the on-going basketball season. So, fans and players alike can channel their inner Saiyan when the clock starts counting down.

Of course, this isn’t the first time anime has dipped into the world of professional sports, and it will not be the last. From football to soccer, heroes like Naruto have managed to inspired countless of athletes to push beyond their limits. As for Dragon Ball in particular, some top athletes have shouted out the series while cameras were rolling. In the past, guys like Joel Embiid have been seen watching Dragon Ball GT while court side, and Darren Fells celebrated a recent touchdown by performing a Fusion Dance celebration with David Njoku in front of thousands of fans.

So, are you loving this mash-up? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Dragon Ball Super: Broly will hit Japanese theaters in December, and is expected to arrive in the U.S. around mid-January 2019. Dragon Ball Super is currently airing its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m. ET. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release of the series is complete and available to stream on Funimation, VRV and Crunchyroll.