SportsPulse: Former Chicago Bulls teammate B.J. Armstrong breaks down the first two episodes of "The Last Dance" and explains why Michael Jordan's criticism of his teammates was only the "PG" version. USA TODAY

More than two years before the first episodes of ESPN's "The Last Dance" documentary ever aired, Michael Jordan revealed some clues about the secretive project that was still in the works.

In a 2017 interview with Cigar Aficionado magazine, Jordan confirmed a camera crew had followed the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls around the entire season "to capture the last dance."

He also seemed to know it might not portray him in the best light at all times. "What you will see in that footage is my dedication to the game of basketball. Unwavering dedication, day in and day out," he told Cigar Aficionado editor and publisher Marvin R. Shanken.

"And being the leader of the team, I hold everyone else accountable for the success. They're going to get an honest understanding for what winning is about. What leadership is about... I have no problems with people seeing it, as long as they understand the passion, because it's a strong passion and it's very raw."

Michael Jordan, who told Cigar Aficionado magazine in 2017 he smokes "six cigars a day," enjoys one on the golf course while serving as a captain's assistant for Team USA at the 2009 Presidents Cup in San Francisco.(Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP)

There are a few other Jordan quotes from the interview that become more interesting with the passage of time.

One example is when Jordan discussed his return to the NBA after taking a year off to play minor league baseball. "That helped me put things in perspective," he said.

"When I went back to [basketball] I appreciated it even more. So when we won those championships [in 1996, 1997 and 1998] those things mattered to me far more than what I did in 91, 92 and 93. People dont see that. All they think about is he batted .202, and he struck out a certain number of times. Yeah, OK. But the effort was there and the learning curve and the passion was there.

"Thats what my father and my mother instilled in me. Take a negative and turn it into a positive. Dont be afraid to fail."

Jordan said one reason he was such a big baseball fan was because of his late father, James.

"He loved Roberto Clemente. I grew up emulating his footsteps. Who he admired is who I watched. I also grew up a NASCAR fan, a Richard Petty fan. I was more into stock-car racing than I was into anything else," Jordan said, adding, "The thing I remember the most about my father and I had him for 32 years I never look at it from a negative sense. Obviously he was murdered and rarely I do I get the chance to talk about him. I think about him practically every day."

As for being called the greatest basketball player of all time, Jordan -- perhaps the NBA's ultimate competitor -- downplayed the competition.

"Thats one thing my parents taught me very well. Dont rub success in peoples faces," he said. "Its all related to who is watching now. If you ask 20 years from now, Im pretty sure LeBron [James] may beat me. If you ask me, I can never give you an opinion about things like that."

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The resistance to compare athletes of different eras also extends to another of Jordan's passions, golf.

"First of all youre never going to say who is the greatest of all time. To me, thats more for PR and selling stories and getting hype," Jordan explained.

"Jack (Nicklaus) and Tiger (Woods) never played against each other, they never played in the same tournament, they never played with the same equipment, they never played the same length of golf course.

"I never played against Wilt Chamberlain, I never played against Jerry West. To now say that ones greater than the other is being a little bit unfair. ...Obviously Jack won more during the time he played. Tiger evolved the game to where it crossed a lot of different boundaries, where it was no longer just a white guys sport. And that grew the game from a financial standpoint. Now does that constitute him being the greatest? Does that mean hes any less than Jack? I think its unfair."

In asking Jordan about Nicklaus vs. Woods,Shanken seemed to assume Tiger was finished winning major titles, not knowing he would stage a Jordan-like comeback to capture the 2019 Masters.

"Yes, Jack has 18 majors and Tiger has 14," Jordan responded at the time -- before Woods captured his 15th.

"I won six championships. Bill Russell won 11. Does that make Bill Russell better than me or make me better than him? No, because we played in different eras. So when youre trying to equate who is the greatest of all time, its an unfair parallel, its an unfair choice."

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Michael Jordan discussed his late father, dropped hints of 'The Last Dance' in 2017 interview - USA TODAY