Former national team player Rena Wakama is a Nigerian-American basketball coach who went on to become the first female head coach of D’Tigress.
Born in North Carolina to Nigerian parents from Rivers State on April 11, 1992, Rena played college basketball at Western Carolina University and holds an MBA from Manhattan College.
Wakama represented Nigeria as a basketballer at AfroBasket 2015 and started her coaching career in America, serving at several universities before her historic appointment as D’Tigress head coach two years ago.
Notable Achievements:
She became the first woman to win several AfroBasket titles (10–0 record).
She is the first woman to coach the country’s basketball team at the Olympics.
She led Nigeria to its first Olympic basketball win in 2 decades.
She coached the first African team to emerge victorious in two group-stage games at the Olympics.
She was named Best Coach of the Paris 2024 Women’s Olympic Tournament by FIBA.
Rena Wakama has earned her recognition as a pacesetter who keeps taking African women’s basketball to heights many never thought possible.
