A New York-based auction house is used to selling sports memorabilia, but they have recently listed a rather unusual item – a cigar smoked by former NBA star Michael Jordan.
Lelands was established in 1985 and claims to be the first sports auction house and the premiere appraisers and authenticators in the entire sports collectible hobby. Their website states they have been involved in the sales of hundreds of millions of dollars of the most important sports memorabilia and cards in the world.
However, this might be an item they have never listed before. The auction site recently posted a cigar smoked by NBA legend Jordan. The listing states that the cigar was obtained by the consignor when she met Jordan at the Arizona Biltmore Resort in the fall of 2021 and asked Jordan for a photo.
In the item description, it states, “Before taking the photo, he put his cigar in the ashtray, snapped a quick picture and went about his day. After noticing Michael had left his cigar in the ashtray, our consignor decided to take the cigar along with her.”
According to the listing, the half-smoked cigar is an Oliva V Melanio, which is manufactured in Nicaragua and made with Cuban seeds. The auction opened on Feb. 17th with a starting bid of $500.
Jordan Loves His Cigars
As many Jordan fans know, the GOAT definitely loves his cigars. If you watched The Last Dance, then you know he basically had a cigar in his mouth at all times.
Sportscasting reported that Jordan’s favorite cigar is Partagas Lusitania, which is a large cigar. However, he isn’t opposed to something smaller and he likes to smoke a variety of cigars, which must be the case since the cigar up for auction is an Oliva V Melanio.
As far as the Partagas cigars go, it is one of the oldest, most well-regarded brands of Cuban cigars. They are not cheap either, not that it matters to Jordan. The cigars come in a box of 25 cigars for about $500, or $20 per cigar.
Jordan goes through those boxes of cigars pretty quick though, as it is rumored he smokes six cigars a day. Six??? It works for him though, as he won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls.