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Revision as of 15:58, 12 January 2025
Canadian basketball player
| No. 32 – Florida Gators | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Center | ||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Southeastern Conference | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (2006-02-02) February 2, 2006 (age 18) Terrebonne, Quebec, Canada | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 7 ft 9 in (2.36 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 305 lb (138 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Florida (2024–present) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Olivier Rioux (born February 2, 2006) is a Canadian college basketball player for the Florida Gators of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Guinness World Records declared him the tallest teenager in the world in 2021, he measured 7 ft 5 in (2.26 m) at age 15. He now stands 7 ft 9 in (2.36 m) tall.
Early life and high school career
Olivier Rioux was born in Terrebonne on February 2, 2006, to Jean-François, a 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) photographer and former volleyball player, and Anne Gariepy, who is 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m), and works at the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). His 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) older brother, Émile, has also played basketball. The family has resided in the Anjou borough of Montreal and the suburb of Beloeil.
Both Olivier and Émile played for multiple Canadian AAU teams. Rioux first gained attention while playing internationally for the French Phenoms at age 12 when he was 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m). He played for Real Madrid and Brookwood Elite prior to attending IMG Academy.
College career
Rioux committed to play college basketball at the University of Florida.
He did not appear in any of the Gators' first four games of the 2024–25 season. After the fourth game, head coach Todd Golden told the Associated Press that Rioux was being redshirted, and that he had previously discussed the matter with Rioux, his family, and his AAU coach.
Rioux is one of the fan favorites as he will be the tallest player in college basketball history once he makes his debut. Golden said in a press conference that "About 95% of my conversations with random people about our team is about Olivier Rioux... it’s the first time we’ve been ranked since 2019 and it’s like… hey coach we are really excited to see Olivier out there this year… I get it… he’s a very unique individual."
National team career
Rioux first represented Canada at youth level during the 2021 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship in Mexico. He helped Canada win bronze at the tournament, finishing with averages of 8.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. A year later, he played for Canada at the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup in Spain. He finished the competition with averages of 2.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
In June 2023, Rioux was selected to play for Canada at the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup in Hungary. He averaged 3.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game over the course of the tournament. The following year, at the 2024 FIBA Under-18 AmeriCup in Argentina, Rioux won his second bronze medal at youth level. He finished the event averaging 4.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.
References
- Newman, Logan (December 26, 2023). "Above the Rim and Beyond the Court: Olivier Rioux, the world's tallest teen, is more than just a basketball player". USA Today.
- Marcus, Amanda (September 15, 2021). "Canadian confirmed as tallest teenager in the world". Guinness World Records. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
- Florida Gators bio
- Rai, Chanda (November 18, 2023). "Olivier Rioux Parents: Father Jean-Francois And Mother Anne". Players Bio. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
- Ewing, Lori (June 19, 2018). "Six-foot-ten Canadian 12-year-old gets the attention of NBA players". The Canadian Press. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
- Browne, Ken (May 2, 2019). "Canada's new basketball prodigy Olivier Rioux: 13 years old, 2.18m tall, shoe size 20". Olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
- Asmelash, Leah (June 21, 2024). https://www.cnn.com/cnn/2024/06/21/sport/olivier-rioux-tallest-college-basketball-player-cec. CNN.com
- Long, Mark (November 15, 2024). "The world's tallest teenager, 7-foot-9 Olivier Rioux, plans to redshirt at Florida this season". Associated Press. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
- "World's Tallest Teenager Is Set to Make College Basketball History". People.com. Retrieved January 12, 2025.
- "Olivier Rioux 2021 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship statistics". fiba.basketball. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
- "Olivier Rioux 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup statistics". fiba.basketball. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
- "Olivier Rioux 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup statistics". fiba.basketball. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
- "Olivier Rioux 2024 FIBA U18 AmeriCup statistics". fiba.basketball. Retrieved June 9, 2024.