Katie Ledecky speaks on the viral video where Michael Jordan can be seen playing peek-a-boo with her when she was just two years old.
American swimming sensation Katie Ledecky tends to go viral whenever the Olympics are being held and it’s no different this time. Ledecky has excelled at the 2024 Olympics in Paris but her performance in the water isn’t the only thing she has gone viral for this time. An old video recently resurfaced on social media, where Michael Jordan can be seen playing peek-a-boo with a two-year-old Ledecky.

Imagine attending an NBA game and having Jordan, of all people, playing peek-a-boo with you. With this video spreading like wildfire, Ledecky herself was asked about the incident.

“My uncle Jon was one of the owners of the Washington Capitals at the time,” Ledecky said. “We were at a Wizards game in the owner’s box. Michael Jordan was there, he was part of the Wizards organization back then. And I was eating my popcorn and Michael Jordan started playing peek-a-boo with me.

“And I was totally unfazed, just kept eating my popcorn,” Ledecky continued. “And he started covering my mouth to try to prevent me from getting the popcorn in my mouth. I think Zach (Leonsis) at one point in the video if you look very closely, he says, ‘Do you know who that is?’ And I say, ‘Michael Jordan.’

“So, I was definitely aware of how great he was, who he was, but totally unfazed by it,” Ledecky added. “I do like to think that he inspired me and passed on a little bit of his greatness. And definitely was really inspiring to be around some professional athletes from such a young age and it’s a very funny video.”

Maybe Jordan did pass on a little bit of his greatness. Ledecky has now won 14 medals at the Olympics and is the most decorated U.S. female Olympian of all time. The 27-year-old won her ninth gold medal this year and is now tied for second all-time at the event (men and women). It’s unlikely she’ll ever get the top spot, though, as her fellow countryman Michael Phelps won 23 gold medals.

Jordan, meanwhile, only won two gold medals at the Olympics, in 1984 and 1992. If there were more categories in basketball, as there are in swimming, he probably would have won more, though.

As for Jordan’s partnership with Katie’s uncle Jon Ledecky, it wasn’t a particularly long one. Jon partnered with Ted Leonsis to found Lincoln Holdings, which purchased the NHL’s Washington Capitals and got a 44% share in the Wizards in 1999. A year later, Jordan became a part-owner and president of basketball operations for the team.

In 2001, though, Ledecky sold his 24% stake in Lincoln Holdings for more than $70 million, but it’s unlikely he had any sort of issues with Jordan. Ledecky was reportedly interested in having a bigger share of sports teams and is now a co-owner of the New York Islanders in the NHL.

Jordan, meanwhile, sold his stake in the Wizards when he came out of retirement for the second time. He bought a minority stake in the Charlotte Bobcats in 2006 following his third (and final) retirement and became the majority owner in 2010. It was only in 2023, that Jordan sold his majority stake to Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall. He is still a minority owner, though.