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Giant Canadian teenager sets record as tallest college basketball player ever

Adam Laskaris
Adam Laskaris
|
Nov 7 2025, 4:39 pm
Giant Canadian teenager sets record as tallest college basketball player ever
Matt Pendleton/Imagn Images

Kids all across Canada and the United States are going to be looking up to University of Florida basketball player Olivier Rioux.

But not necessarily because they’ll be inspired by his play, but because the 19-year-old Quebec native might just be the tallest human they’ve ever seen.

On Thursday, the Canadian freshman — who redshirted last year on his way to a national championship with the Florida Gators — made his official college basketball debut.

And at 7-foot-9, Rioux is the tallest recorded player to suit up in college basketball, and a Guinness World Record holder for the world’s tallest teenager.

Rioux isn’t the only tall Canadian on the basketball radar, though. Keep an eye out for 7-foot-6 Jeremy Gohier, who just turned 15 this week. And then there’s also 7-foot-4 Zach Edey, who’s in his second season with the Memphis Grizzlies and is tied for the current tallest player in the NBA.

The all-time NBA record is 7-foot-7, held by Gheorghe Muresan, who played 304 games in the NBA from 1993 to 2000.

Will the NBA come calling for Rioux?

Rioux’s debut wasn’t anything sensational, apart from the fact that it was his first actual game action. In a 104-64 rout of non-conference opponent North Florida, Rioux played just two minutes and did not register on the stat sheet.

“The biggest question mark about his name translating to the next level is obviously his speed and athleticism. He’s very slow by NBA standards and will have trouble keeping up with the pace of the NBA game,” his NBA Draft Room proposal reads.

He’s technically eligible to come out of college and declare for the 2026 NBA Draft, although that seems unlikely for the youngster. With four years of eligibility to play with, it’s likely that he stays in school for a few years (or perhaps even the full four) and develops his game further.

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