Hoops legend Michael Jordan smokes pre-Castro H. Upmanns with Marvin R. Shanken.

What kind of cigar did you smoke this morning?JORDAN: I had a Cohiba Siglo II.

If I had to smoke a cigar that I can get through, that would be an Esplendido. I can get through those.

MRS: Partagas Serie D?JORDAN: Sure. You've got me smoking these Montecristo No. 2s, and these are so strong. If I hadn't had anything to eat, I wouldn't touch this.

You ever have an Epicure No. 2?JORDAN: Sure.

- So now I'm sitting in a car for almost an hour and a half, and I'm very tense. I'm worried about the traffic. So I started smoking a cigar going to the games. In 1993. It became a ritual for every home game.- What cigar?- At the time, I started out with the Hoyo de Monterrey Double Corona.

We're sitting here. We're smoking a Cuban Monty No. 2. Nothing wrong with that. I went through your humidor here; you have a great selection. When did you first get into cigars?JORDAN: I smoked my first cigar in 1991, when we won the championship. Up to that point, I had never smoked a cigar, never smoked anything. We won the championship, and Jerry Reinsdorf gave me one of his cigars. He's a big cigar smoker.

Jordan said his favorite cigar is the Cuban Partagás Lusitania, which the magazine said retailed for about $13 each in Cuba two years ago. However, he allowed, "I like variety."