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New Delhi: Canadian teenager Olivier Rioux scripted basketball history on Wednesday by becoming the tallest player to score a basket in the history of college basketball. Standing at an astonishing 7ft 9in (2.36m), Rioux set the new basketball record while playing for the Florida Gators against Saint Francis. Rioux dunked late on to enter the record books as his side won the contest 102-61 on Wednesday.
The 19-year-old Canadian already holds the record of being the tallest basketball player to step on a college court when he made his first appearance last month. Four years ago, he was declared the tallest teenager by Guinness World Records in 2021 when he was then 7ft 5in (2.26m).
It was a momentous occasion for Rioux, who slammed his first dunk on Wednesday to attract global attention. He had scored a free throw against Merrimack on 21 November.
While Rioux's record was made in a college basketball arena, it would also stand in the NBA, the game's top level. In the current list of NBA players, nobody comes close to Rioux's height.
21-year-old French sensation Victor Wembanyama is currently the tallest player in the NBA. The San Antonio Spurs superstar measures a whopping 7ft 4in (2.24m). Second in the list is Zach Edey of the Memphis Grizzlies. The 23-year-old Canadian stands 7ft 3in (2.21m).
As per the NBA's official website, three other players - 23-year-old Donovan Clingan, of the Portland Trail Blazers, 24-year-old Walker Kessler of the Utah Jazz, and Kristaps Porzingis of the Atlanta Hawks - measure at 7ft 2in (2.18m).
Rioux is not just taller than the current lot of NBA players. The officially recorded tallest ever players, Manute Bol and Gheorghe Muresan, who were both 7ft 7in (2.31m), also fall short of Rioux's height by 2 inches.
While Bol played between 1985 and 1997, Muresan, widely known as the Giant, plied his trade from 1991 to 2001.
(With Inputs from BBC Sport)
