Guinness World Records has designated the Quebec high school standout and NBA aspirant Olivier Rioux.as the world’s tallest teenager.

The 16-year-old is 7ft5 (227cm) tall and attends the sports-focused prep school IMG Academy in Florida.

And he has big goals of breaking into the NBA, wanting to follow in the footsteps of IMG grads Trevon Duval and Jonathan Isaac.

Who is Olivier Rioux?

Rioux was born in 2006 in Montreal, Canada, and both of his parents are well over six feet tall.

Father Jean-Francois stands 6ft8 and mother Anne Gariepy stands 6ft1.

Birth:02 Feb 2006 (age 16)

Height:228cm / 7’6″

Club:The IMG Academy (USA)

‎Nationality:Canada

However, there was no sign from a young age that he would break the 7ft barrier by the age of thirteen, with doctors first expecting he would peak out at 6ft5.

They were completely wrong, with Olivier growing roughly 10cm every year – and he’s probably not done yet.

Rioux recalls showing up for basketball games as a five-year-old and opponents questioning his true age due to his already outstanding height.

Away from the game, the world’s tallest adolescent need a few simple tweaks to his daily routine to be comfortable.

His parents had to alter their home to accommodate taller tabletops and ceilings, and it’s difficult to locate footwear that suit Olivier’s enormous size-20 feet.

‘SO MANY QUESTIONS…’

And on a family trip to Cuba, stunned tourists queued up in the Rioux’s holiday resort just to get a photo with him.

It’s on court that Olivier has truly been noticed though, with his first taste of fame after going viral in 2018.

Then aged just twelve, he stood at a whopping 6ft10 as he played with French team Frenchy Phenoms against a bunch of Spanish pre-teens in an U12 tournament.

Rioux towered over the other kids, showing superb movement, shooting and dunking as his undoubted talent was viewed around the world.

NBA stars took note, with Steph Curry replying ‘So many questions…’ to the viral clip.

Rioux spent time training and playing with Real Madrid in Spain and College St-Jean-Vianney in Montreal before making the life-changing transfer from Quebec to Florida.

It happened in Spain. In an Instagram photo, Rioux was seen with soccer aristocracy, making then-Real Madrid player Sergio Ramos appear like a toddler.

Olivier made the thrilling transfer to the IMG Academy in summer 2021 and will now finish his high school career with the Ascenders.

He was a tremendously successful presence for his new squad this season, lining up at center, and will be trying to capture the attention of D1 institutions.

‘A LOT OF POTENTIAL’

His athleticism and presence, as well as his ability to adapt on and off the court, have pleased his coaches.

Rioux immediately impressed Steffen Visk, IMG’s associate director of strength and conditioning, upon his arrival.

He stated: “When I first met him, I said to myself, “Man, I hope this guy comes for the whole year.”

“I’ve seen a lot of players above 7ft while being a member of the basketball program for a long time. So that wasn’t a huge surprise.

“But seeing him move and discovering his age made me think, woah, this young kid has a lot of promise.”

Despite his rapid growth, Olivier’s instructors have been astounded by how effectively he has handled the problems this presents.

“[Olivier] developed very, really rapidly, and part of that is you lose a lot of coordination,” Steffen added.

“You lose your ability to move rapidly as well.” So it’s almost as if he needs to relearn how to be explosive like he used to be when he was younger and smaller.”

Rioux surpassed Ren Keyu, who was 15 years old and 7ft3 in 2020, to become the world’s tallest adolescent.

Rioux would be the joint-third tallest player of all time if he makes it all the way to the NBA, even at his present height.

Gheorghe Muresan of Romania tops the list of the NBA’s tallest players, at a whopping 7ft7.

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