Michael Jordan Used to Smoke a Cigar Before Every Home Game

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And then there is Cigar Aficionado. Jordan has appeared on two of the magazine’s covers, in 2005 and 2017, each time sitting for a lengthy interview (and a number of cigars) with editor-in-chief and publisher Marvin Shanken. Those interviews—as well as the videos that accompanied the second story—are essential Jordan literature. Because the MJ who graces the pages of Cigar Aficionado is relaxed, expansive, and even jocular—far from the vicious, pathologically competitive figure of The Last Dance, where he’s rarely seen without a stogie. To learn more about Jordan’s history with the magazine, and his hellacious six-smokes-a-day habit, I called Shanken up at his home in Florida.

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Does anything stick out to you from that first interview? The interview took place in his living room, where he has a wine cellar, a cigar room, and you're surrounded by six MVPs. It's daunting. You realize that this is a very special man. The thing that blew me away was—and I have to go back to see how it came up; maybe I was asking about his smoking habits, and why he smoked and so forth—he confessed to me that nobody knew, but on the way to every Bulls home game, because he's in the car for an hour and fifteen minutes to an hour and a half, he smoked a cigar. Usually a Hoya de Monterrey Double Corona. Which would allow him to relax, and be ready for the game.

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And it was as simple as that. It was as simple as that. So then we arranged to do it at the Bear's Club, which was closed at the time. And this time, I brought a crew and I videotaped the whole thing. And the highlight there, which went viral after it was released, was when we talked about cigar smoking. I know he smokes on the golf course; I play with him. So I said, "How many do you smoke a day?" He said he smokes six a day, and he plays 36 holes. And I know he plays almost every day. And these are not little cigars!

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Is that the power of sharing a cigar with somebody? Yeah. I mean, one time—I'm in New York in my office. This is after the interview. And my cell phone rings. Usually, we text. And I can see who's calling. So I pick it up, and I say, "Michael, I can't believe you're calling me!" He said, "I'm in New York. I'm at an NBA owner's meeting. I'm bored to death, I want to come over and have a cigar with you." He came over, and we spent three or four hours just sitting around talking, and having a cigar. It was very cool.

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