‘No Bull’ interview

In yesterday’s column, I wrote about that 18-page "No Bull" interview with Michael Jordan in the lavish New York magazine Cigar Aficionado (July/August issue).

Jordan is on the cover of the publication, which comes out six times a year. Others who’ve graced the cover since Cigar Aficionado made its debut on the shelves in 1992 were Don King, Mike Tyson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Murray, Morgan Freeman, Sharon Stone, Alec Baldwin, Jimmy Smits and Sir Winston Churchill, Andy Garcia and Steve Wynn.

Here’s more on Jordan’s thoughts about a variety of subjects.

MJ says the Los Angeles Lakers should never have gotten rid of Shaquille O’Neal just because Kobe Bryant couldn’t get along with him.

"I’m pretty sure (Kobe) does (reads about what’s going on in Miami)," notes Jordan. "But you can’t blame one guy. It’s a combination of both of them. If you’ve got success in your house, you find a way to manage so that everybody prospers and everybody is viewed as champions. Personalities got involved after they’d had some success. It becomes about individuals–individual goals that they wanted to achieve. Be it Kobe leading the league in scoring and carrying the team by himself or Shaq proving he can win without Kobe. What’s the purpose of changing if you’ve got the right mixture that’s working? Give me a seven-footer and I’d probably still be playing right now."

On drugs in sports, Jordan says the National Basketball Association (NBA) has implemented provisions to monitor its use and eliminate it.

"To some degree, it is working," continues MJ. "I wouldn’t say it’s worse today than it was 20, 30 years ago. I must admit, it’s still prevalent. Steroids have never been prevalent in pro basketball. But you got a lot of marijuana smoking and drug use like cocaine. I think (commissioner) David Stern has done a great job to eliminate all those issues but no one is going to be able to eliminate it completely. It starts with the kids of tomorrow and how those kids are brought up and what their values are. And how the parents teach those kids those values."

What’s his version of a Dream Team?

Jordan picks Hakeem Olajuwon at center over Wilt Chamberlain, Shaq and Pat Ewing because of his versatility. At power forward, he springs a surprise and chooses Larry Bird–who is probably more suited at shooting forward–over James Worthy, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley and Charles Oakley. At small forward, he chooses Scottie Pippen over Julius Erving, Dominique Wilkins and Elgin Baylor. Magic Johnson is his selection at point guard and of course, he picks himself at offguard with Jerry West coming off the bench.

Another surprise pick was Jordan’s choice as the best pure shooter ever. He names Brian Winters ("he had the most beautiful stroke") over John Paxson. As the best clutch shooter, it’s a toss-up between West and Reggie Miller. His best all-time rebounder is Moses Malone and Magic is his choice as the most unselfish player.

As to who is the best pro coach in his book, MJ points to Phil Jackson by far with Larry Brown and Pat Riley also in the running.

On his association with Nike, Jordan says:

"I never wore a Nike shoe until I signed with Nike. I wore Converse in college and I was a big Adidas fan. Then Nike came to me about creating my own shoe. It gave me an opportunity to learn more about the shoe industry and they gave me an opportunity to create. I sat down with the designers and I talked to them about my personality and things that I like and things I feel people may like. We put all those thoughts into a brand, into the Jordan brand. We continued to create and lead and the public kept following and following. It has continued for 20 years. Today, brand Jordan is a $485-million business."

Jordan says he wants to own an NBA team.

"I still want to have an impact on a basketball team. I want to have a long-time connection with the game. I would love to own the Chicago Bulls. I’d (also) love to own a franchise in Las Vegas."

Jordan admits he’s addicted to golf. He started playing in 1984 and Tiger Woods is a close friend. "We talk all the time about the mental approach, dealing with the expectations from the public," he adds.

On his much-ballyhooed gambling sprees, Jordan says he’s not greedy. "Gambling can initiate greed," he notes. "You want more or you want to get it back. You have to pick a number (a limit to what one can afford to lose). It’s all relative to what you feel comfortable with. Mine may vary from yours and ours may vary from a lot of people. It doesn’t take much to beat my head in. Have I lost a lot? Sure. Have I won a lot? Sure. What’s considered a lot? I have satisfied myself both ways. For me, that’s my enjoyment."

Jordan says he has a taste for fine wine and considers himself a Grade C connoisseur. He has a wine cellar in his Chicago suburban home. As for cigars, Jordan smoked his first in 1991 when the Bulls won the title.

Jordan says former football star and broadcaster Ahmad Rashad influenced him to relax by chewing on a cigar dipped in rum but not smoking it. In 1993, he started a ritual of smoking a cigar on the way to Chicago home games because it took about an hour and a half to drive to the stadium from home.

To put things into perspective, Jordan explains that he’s not endorsing cigars or wine.

"I’m not endorsing anything or telling kids they should pick up cigar-smoking or drink beer," he elaborates. "These are the things that I enjoy. This is my passion. I’m at that stage where now I’m taking my life back from the public and doing the things I enjoy doing. Like motorcycle riding which I couldn’t do because I had this situation with my contracts and my commitments to the game. But I grew up riding a motorcycle and now, I’m doing more of those things I like. And I’m enjoying myself. People have to understand that I’m still a person and there are things that I enjoy doing. Yes, I enjoy working with kids and giving them positive things to think about, about how to get from where they are to where they want to be. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t be the person that I want to be and do the things that I want to do."

Jordan, 42, just wants to live life like he always wanted to.