7-foot-6 Olivier Rioux, world’s tallest teenager, lands at IMG
BRADENTON, Fla. (BVM) – Olivier Rioux stands at 7-foot-6 and is the tallest teenager in the world, according to Guinness World Records. The 16-year-old Canadian – already just as large as the NBA’s tallest player from last season, Tacko Fall – has landed in the United States to follow his own basketball dreams.
https://twitter.com/ctsbulls/status/1584686050466668544
Standing at 7-foot-6 at the age of 16 is miraculous but Rioux has always stood out in every room he’s walked into. From east Montreal and a proud Quebecois, Rioux was 5-foot-2 in kindergarten and by the time he was 12 years old, he was already 6-foot-10. His height runs in the family as his father is 6-foot-8 and his mother is 6-foot-2.
On the basketball court, Rioux barely has to leave his feet to dunk and in his debut for Real Madrid a few years ago, he scored 20 points and flashed his high-end potential. Rioux’s plan is to make it to the NBA which is why he’s attending the prestigious IMG Academy (FL) for his sophomore season.
Olivier Rioux is the world’s tallest teenager at 7-foot-6. He just started his sophomore season at IMG academy pic.twitter.com/5AoNy3Ra8M
— Courtside Films (@CourtsideFilms) October 24, 2022
While Rioux certainly has the size and height to play on the big stage, he’ll need to continue to develop strength and skill to eventually become a legitimate NBA prospect
Perhaps helping Rioux’s case is the emergence of Victor Wembanyama. Standing at 7-foot-4 and likely to be the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Wembanyama is the future of basketball with his rare height and unique skill set.
While Rioux’s height is certainly a blessing that could lead to life-changing opportunities, it doesn’t come without its downfalls. Rioux has revealed that finding proper clothes and ducking under door frames is a usual inconvenience. A former coach even revealed that it’s tough to get on flights sometimes because of people asking Rioux to take pictures with them, or even hold their baby.
Zach Edey, a 7-foot-4 Purdue basketball player, likely had the same issues and underwent a similar path before arriving in West Lafayette. Born in Toronto, Edey picked up basketball before his junior year of high school and was quickly ranked as one of the top-five players in Canada for his senior season at IMG Academy.
Part of a star-studded team that featured several Division I recruits, Edey helped IMG to the UnderArmour Rise Championship as a senior. He chose Purdue because of its strong history with big men and made an immediate impact for the Boilermakers, earning a Big Ten All-Freshman Team nod. Edey shined again last season as he was named to the second-team All-Big Ten team.
Rioux will hope to replicate the success of Edey but it remains to be seen whether or not either big man can develop the necessary skills to be mentioned in the same breath as Wembanyama. Either way, the tallest teenager in the world will certainly turn heads in Bradenton.
2024 Olivier Rioux
7'6 Post11 PPG
10 RPG
3 BPG
11/11 FG ATT pic.twitter.com/e8Z4BFMHjl— Jeremy Schiller (@CoachJSchiller) October 18, 2022
