Olivier Rioux (born February 2, 2006) is a Canadian

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

player for the

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of the

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(SEC). ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

'' declared him the tallest teenager in the world in 2021 when he measured at age 15. He now stands tall. If Rioux gets drafted into the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

, he will be the tallest player to ever play in the NBA.

Early life and high school career

Olivier Rioux was born in Terrebonne on February 2, 2006, to Jean-François, a photographer and former volleyball player, and Anne Gariépy, who is , and works at the

Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; ) is a Canadian multinational Financial institution, financial services company and the Big Five (banks), largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 20 million clients and has more than ...

(RBC). His older brother, Émile, has also played basketball. The family has resided in the

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France *County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France ** Du ...

borough of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and the suburb of Beloeil. Rioux started playing basketball when he was five. Both he and Émile played for multiple Canadian AAU teams. Rioux first gained attention while playing internationally for the French Phenoms at 12, because by then he was already . He played for

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

prior to attending

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a University-preparatory school, preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. The organization is set across over 600 acres (243 ha) and features programs consisting of sport ca ...

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698, up from 49,546 at the 2010 census. It is a pri ...

. He also played for Canadian AAU team Brookwood Elite.

College career

Rioux committed to play college basketball at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. 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 Todd Raymond Golden (born July 7, 1985) is an Israeli-American college basketball coach who is the current head coach of the Florida Gators men's basketball team. In the 2024–25 season, Golden led the Gators to a 36–4 record and the nationa ...

told the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

that Rioux was being

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, and that he had previously discussed the matter with Rioux, his family, and his AAU coach. The Gators went on to win the

NCAA championship The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

National team career

Rioux first represented Canada at the youth level during the

2021 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship The 2021 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship was the men's international basketball competition that was held in Xalapa, Mexico, from 23 to 29 August 2021. The top four teams qualified for the 2022 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup in Spain. Qu ...

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 The 2024 FIBA Under-18 AmeriCup was the 13th edition of the FIBA Under-18 AmeriCup, a biennial international under-18 basketball tournament. The tournament was held from 3 to 9 June 2024, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It also served as a qualifyin ...

in Argentina, Rioux won his second bronze medal at the youth level. He finished the event averaging 4.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

References

External links

Florida Gators bio

Olivier Rioux
at

Canada Basketball Canada Basketball is the governing body for basketball in Canada. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, the federation is a full member of FIBA and governs Canadian basketball at the international, professional, and amateur levels, including: the ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rioux, Olivier 2006 births Living people 21st-century Canadian sportsmen Canadian expatriate basketball people in the United States Canadian men's basketball players Centers (basketball) IMG Academy alumni Sportspeople from Terrebonne, Quebec