8-ft giant and world’s tallest teen makes Wemby look tiny and could break NBA

Watch out Wemby, there’s a new giant in town.

Florida men’s basketball commit Olivier Rioux is the new big man on campus and showing no signs of slowing down.

The 18-year-old Canadian recently extended his own Guinness World Record as the tallest teenager in the world by measuring in at a gargantuan 7ft 9in.

Just eight weeks ago, the towering teen from Montreal was listed at a ginormous 7ft 7in, meaning he’s grown a whole two inches in just as many months.

Rioux played high school ball at powerhouse private school IMG Academy in Florida before committing to the Gators, and was already the world’s tallest teenager prior to joining the Division-I school.

According to the Gators’ website, the 290lbs freshman was 6ft 1in when was just eight years old.

He continued to grow at an unbelievable rate and passed the seven foot mark prior to the seventh grade.

In 2019, he was invited to play a tournament for European giants Real Madrid in Spain.

Rioux was listed at just over 7ft 5in aged 16, which was when he entered the Guinness World Record book as the world’s tallest teenager.

Now, he’s just three inches shy of 8ft and potentially the biggest baller to ever play in D-1 history.

“It’s absolutely insane how well he moves at 7-foot-9. Wow!” one fan posted in reaction to his viral highlights package.

“What are they feeding these kids?” joked another.

“With the whole Rioux family being tall [his father is 6ft 8in and his mother is 6ft 2in], Olivier’s childhood home was updated to accommodate everyone’s stature,” Guinness wrote when presenting him with the record.

“Tabletops, and ceilings are all higher than average. The only thing that remains the same is the doorframes, which have seen their fair share of collisions with the top of Olivier’s head.

“As a child, Olivier spent hours looking through his Guinness World Records books, studying the tallest people, and comparing himself to every record holder. After failing to find someone taller than him in the 2015 and 2016 editions of the books, Olivier was inspired to achieve the title himself and recalls being “emotionally shocked and relieved that (he) finally got it!”

Rioux still has a long way to go to make it to the NBA, but if he does, he would be the tallest player in league history.

As things stand, 7ft 7in titans Gheorghe Muresan and Manute Bol hold that distinction.

San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama is the tallest player in The Association today.

The reigning Rookie of the Year is listed at 7ft 4in – some five inches shorter than Rioux.

The French superstar has been described as a generational talent by experts and likened to a ‘unicorn’ and an ‘alien’ for his unique blend of size, skill, athleticism, shooting and defensive prowess.

Rioux, meanwhile, is much more of a traditional center who does his best work inside the paint where he can tower over opponents and dunk on them.

247Sports lists him as a 3-star prospect, ranking outside the top 300 players in the nation for the 2024 recruiting class.

He’s ranked as the 53rd-best center in the country and the No.27 player in the state of Florida and, according to one scouting report, “can come into a game to clog the paint, shield opponents away from the rim and be a serviceable rebounder”.

Rioux’s game is more like two-time NCAA player of the year Zach Edey than Wembanyama’s.

Like Rioux, 7ft 4in fellow Canadian Edey is a low-post menace without much of a 3-ball.

Edey enjoyed a stellar college career and led the Purdue Boilermakers to back-to-back Big Ten regular season titles and a trip to the 2024 NCAA Tournament championship game – which they lost to the UConn Huskies.

Edey is expected to be a first-round pick in the upcoming NBA Draft and has generated interest from the Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz and Toronto Raptors.

He’s projected to be a back-up center and will find out his new team on 26 June in the annual NBA Draft.

Rioux, on the other hand, will be focused on guiding the Gators to next season’s March Madness.

The Gators won 24 games and reached the SEC tournament final last season before losing to Colorado 103-100 in the first round of the 2024 NCAA tournament.