The world's tallest teenager is nearly 8 feet tall and lives in Florida

When Olivier Rioux was 8 years old, he was already taller than some NBA players.

• Now 18, the Guinness World Record holder stands 7-foot-9 and plays basketball for the University of Florida.

The big picture: Rioux is officially the tallest teenager in the world.

• He'd be the tallest NBA player in history if his pro-hoop dreams come true.
• And if he keeps growing at this rate, he could even become the world's tallest man, according to Yahoo Sports AM .

By the numbers: Rioux, a Quebec native who has played for Team Canada in youth tournaments, was 6-foot-1 at age 8 and crossed the 7-foot mark the summer before seventh grade, per UF.

• By 16, when he got the world record, he was 7-foot-5.
• In the year since he signed with UF, he shot up again — from 7-foot-6 to his current 7-foot-9, Yahoo reported.

What he's saying: "We're still not 100% sure why I'm so tall — after investigation, doctors could only explain it with the genetics that my family has," Rioux told Guinness World Records.

• The world's tallest living man , Sultan Kösen of Turkey, is 8-foot-2.
• It was pituitary gigantism — or a secretion of too much growth hormone — that caused his extreme growth spurt, USA Today reported. (Kösen underwent surgery in 2010 to stop growing.)

The pros: Rioux, who played high school ball at IMG Academy in Florida, says he loves seeing how strangers react to his height, and it gives him a big advantage in basketball.

The cons: He's hit his head on door frames one too many times.

The bottom line: "This is what nature planned for me. I learned to be peaceful and happy about it."

Watch Rioux look like a man among boys in his high school basketball highlights .