NCAA basketball player goes viral for amazing height difference with 6ft 8in opponent
Olivier Rioux, who is an amazing 7ft 9in tall, is the tallest NCAA basketball player ever! A video of him standing next to a much smaller opponent has become really popular on social media.
Rioux, 20 years old, once held the Guinness World Record for being the tallest living male teenager when he was 7ft 5in at just 15 years old in 2021. Now, he’s a freshman at the University of Florida and plays for the Florida Gators basketball team. He’s been playing basketball since he was five!
Even though Rioux hasn’t played much yet—he’s what’s called a redshirt freshman, meaning he’s still developing—he got a chance to play for two minutes against Prairie View last Saturday. During that short time, he made one shot out of three and grabbed two rebounds. His team won easily, 114-55.
During the game, Prairie View’s Hassam Diallo, who is 6ft 8in tall, walked up to Rioux and chatted with him while waiting for the next play. The difference in their heights was incredible—Diallo had to look up to talk to him and seemed a bit surprised by how tall Rioux really is!
Rioux isn’t just the tallest NCAA player ever; if he makes it to the NBA, he would be the tallest player there, too. Right now, the tallest NBA player is Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs, who is 7ft 4in tall.
Olivier doesn’t know exactly why he’s so tall, but he has a good guess. Both his parents are former volleyball players and are tall—his dad is 6ft 8in and his mom is 6ft 2in. Even his older brother is 6ft 9in. But Olivier is by far the tallest in his family.
He told Guinness World Records in 2022 that doctors explained his height as mostly due to family genetics. He said, “I learned to be peaceful and happy about it. I have to duck under door frames, and since all doors are different heights, it’s not always easy. Sometimes I hit my head!”