Cleveland Cavaliers

J.R. Smith rips off shirt at Game 7 in attempt to ignite Indians rally

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:35 p.m. ET

Rob Perez

After the Cleveland Cavaliers won the 2016 NBA Championship, Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith went what seemed like a straight week without wearing a shirt in public:

For nearly a week, shirtless J.R. became a sign of success and simultaneously acted as a rally cry for the city of Cleveland.

Fast forward to Wednesday night with the Indians trailing by three runs late in Game 7 of the World Series, the mood at Progressive Field was quite subdued. That all changed when, in between innings, Smith riled the home crowd up with a motivational shirt removal:

Hey Indians: are you trying to get some runs?

.@TheRealJRSmith rips off his shirt to pump up the fans #WorldSeries #RallyTogether pic.twitter.com/G97SOKrN4S
— fox8news (@fox8news) November 3, 2016