Cuban cigar smuggler shares which cigar Michael Jordan loved to smoke before home games

[JohnS]

Please take this article, which first appeared on the Basketball Network, with somewhat of a grain of salt, as they say! (In other words, there are possibly details in the story that have been embellished due to the passage of time, in my opinion - John)

Cuban cigar smuggler shares which cigar Michael Jordan loved to smoke before home games

The double corona is a massive cigar, but it looked ordinary in MJ’s large hands.

By Shane Garry Acedera - Sr. NBA Writer at Basketball Network

 Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

Self-confessed Cuban cigar smuggler Scott Anthony OG supplied the best Cuban cigars to the most prominent people in Chicago during the 90s. From lawyers, doctors, judges, businessmen and athletes, Scott sold Cuban cigars to whoever was willing to spend a lot of money on a good smoke.

Perhaps Scott’s most prominent client was, according to him, Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan, whom he claims to have frequently hung out with over cigars at MJ’s former mansion in Highland Park.

“At that time, he loved the double corona,” Scott said on Eric Josefson’s ‘The Burn Down Podcast.’ “So I would give him Hoyo Monterrey, Partagas, and I would get him special cigars. I had a roller; she would hand-make them without a mold. And I would get a double corona belicoso…Michael’s hand is like the size of a cigar box. And I got him these Solomon. And they’re this odd shape, and I would get those in double corona size.”

Part of Jordan’s ritual

Jordan loves cigars as much as he loves golf. As he admitted during his 2005 interview with Cigar Afficionado, he started smoking them in 1993 as a pre-home game ritual, going to the arena to relax himself from the city’s terrible traffic. 

“Taking my time,” Jordan told Cigar Afficionado. “I never rushed. As soon as I walked in, Phil would say, OK, you had a long drive. It became such a relaxing thing to do. Not many people know about it. When they read this, they’ll know that each and every day for a home game, I smoked a cigar. I wanted that feeling of success and relaxation. It’s the most relaxing thing.”

And since he said it took him an hour to 1:15 to get to the venue, he loved smoking big cigars, in particular, the one-hour Hoyo de Monterrey double corona.

A double corona measures between 7.5 and 8.5 inches in length with a ring gauge between 49 and 52, and it’s designed for a long smoking session.  It’s a “monster stick” as Josefson told Anthony, but with Jordan having one of the biggest hands in NBA history at  9.75 inches long, a double corona looked like a regular-sized cigar on MJ’s palm.

MJ smoked the same cigars as Castro

ut not only did Scott Anthony supply Jordan with Cuban cigars, but he also said he made sure that MJ — and all of his clients— paid for their money’s worth by making his product top-notch. To achieve this, he hired one of Fidel Castro’s former rollers to work for him.

“This woman, she was one of Fidel’s private rollers when he smoked. And she would be locked in a room because the CIA tried to poison him through cigars. So they had them locked in a room with security. They went in there nude,” he added.

The level of expertise of a cigar roller significantly impacts the overall experience of the smoker, as a skilled one ensures the quality and consistency of the product. Given this information, it’s no wonder that MJ always played with ice water in his veins and never missed a big shot to win games, especially during home games.

Source: https://www.basketballnetwork.net/off-the-court/cuban-cigar-smuggler-shares-which-cigar-michael-jordan-loved-to-smoke-before-home-games

[NYGuido]

Nude cigar rolling is an interesting thought. Also love that he smoked BEFORE games and, let’s face it, after games, too. I’ve heard elsewhere that Lusis are his current fave. A true cigar nut if ever there was one. MJ is the GOAT. Pure and simple!

[zacca]

This is all accurate…well the stuff about Jordan, I can’t speak to the woman roller! 

I heard stories when I was a kid from a few guys who gambled and played golf with him - told me the Brett Hull stories before they were talked about and written about, and it all adds up. Guy is an absolute maniac. 

[Allroz]

I love hearing MJ stories, GOAT indeed. 

Then insert Lebron, Magic, Kareem, Bird as #2, I’d buy the argument for any of them. 

[NYGuido]

2 minutes ago, Allroz said:

I love hearing MJ stories, GOAT indeed. 

Then insert Lebron, Magic, Kareem, Bird as #2, I’d buy the argument for any of them. 

I don’t know why, but I just dislike LeBron so so much. And not just because I’m a Knicks fan. 

[zacca]

On 11/25/2025 at 9:33 PM, NYGuido said:

I don’t know why, but I just dislike LeBron so so much. And not just because I’m a Knicks fan. 

Can’t stand him. For me, he comes off as a try hard…refers to himself the greatest because he’s played forever and racked up numbers. Tries to make himself look smart by always being photographed reading a book. Total phony. 

[Allroz]

24 minutes ago, NYGuido said:

I don’t know why, but I just dislike LeBron so so much. And not just because I’m a Knicks fan. 

That’s fair - I’m a Cavs fan and don’t care for him either. He thinks very highly of himself. He did bring us a chip though

[Allroz]

8 hours ago, zacca said:

Can’t stand him. For me, he comes off as a try hard…refers to himself the greatest because he’s played forever and racked up numbers. Tries to make himself look smart by always being photographed reading a book…oddly though he’s always on the first page. Total phony. 

Plot twist it’s the same book 😂😂

[Ford2112]

Steph Curry is way cooler than LeBron.

[WestCoastSmokin]

I don't know man, if I’m MJ I want all my cigars banded lol. I don't know if I’d believe it if someone said they had the same lady rolling cigars for me as she did for Castro. MJ could and still can afford to buy the most rare and expensive cigars out there. Am I the only one who is thinking that? 

[NYGuido]

11 hours ago, WestCoastSmokin said:

I don't know man, if I’m MJ I want all my cigars banded lol. I don't know if I’d believe it if someone said they had the same lady rolling cigars for me as she did for Castro. MJ could and still can afford to buy the most rare and expensive cigars out there. Am I the only one who is thinking that? 

I get this, but I think that he’s going on flavor. If they taste like what he likes, he may not even care about the story. He’s so rich he can overpay and not even feel it. 

[WestCoastSmokin]

5 hours ago, NYGuido said:

I get this, but I think that he’s going on flavor. If they taste like what he likes, he may not even care about the story. He’s so rich he can overpay and not even feel it. 

Makes sense actually, but if it’s all about flavor and size why not just order Hoyo DC all the time? He can afford all the boxes available, even at today’s astronomical prices. 

[NYGuido]

7 hours ago, WestCoastSmokin said:

Makes sense actually, but if it’s all about flavor and size why not just order Hoyo DC all the time? He can afford all the boxes available, even at today’s astronomical prices. 

MJ is a mysterious man. Why leave a HoF basketball career to suck at baseball? I’ve given up trying to understand him and just marvel that some of us got to see him play at all. Honestly, between seeing him play against the Knicks at MSG, seeing Tiger play the US Open at Bethpage Black, and now having gotten to see Shohei at Citi Field a few times, I feel so lucky. 

But yeah, MJ is an enigma. A winning, competitive, asshole enigma. 😂 

[WestCoastSmokin]

6 hours ago, NYGuido said:

MJ is a mysterious man. Why leave a HoF basketball career to suck at baseball? I’ve given up trying to understand him and just marvel that some of us got to see him play at all. Honestly, between seeing him play against the Knicks at MSG, seeing Tiger play the US Open at Bethpage Black, and now having gotten to see Shohei at Citi Field a few times, I feel so lucky. 

But yeah, MJ is an enigma. A winning, competitive, asshole enigma.

😂 

Truth, haha just gonna let him do what he wants without questioning it.😂 I gotta go watch that cigar interview with him. 

[chasy]

The fact that he loves cigars coupled with having a serious offshore fishing boat and a nascar team, he clearly marches to the beat of his own drum.