Nigerian women basketball national team – D’Tigress Head Coach, Rene Wakama has been deservedly crowned Best Coach of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games after guiding D’Tigress to an array of historical wins at the Games.
Nigeria made everyone sit up and take notice by beating Australia on the opening day. That was the first time Nigeria had won a group phase game in its Olympic history.
A few days later, Nigeria stunned Canada and become the first African team to win two games. Once again, their tenacious defense provided the platform for success.
Even more impressive, this secured them a ticket to the knockout phase, and they became the first African team in history, men or women category, to play in the Olympic Quarter-Finals.
Their campaign eventually ended when the USA beat them, but even then, they showed their fighting spirit and qualities until the end.
Rena Wakama, a Nigerian professional basketball coach and former player, is the head coach for the Nigeria Senior Women’s Basketball Team and an assistant coach at Tulane University.
Brief Biography
Born on 11 April 1992 in Raleigh, North Carolina, Wakama holds a bachelor’s degree in Therapeutic Recreation from Western Carolina University and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Manhattan College.
She was inspired into the sport by her cousin Onimisi Aiyede at a young age and later played for the Western Carolina Catamounts for four years before joining the D’Tigress team.
She represented Nigeria’s First Bank during her career at the FIBA Africa Champions Cup for Women.
Wakama served as the director of women’s basketball operations at Manhattan College and later as an assistant coach, focusing on talent development and academics.
In 2023, she became the first female Head Coach of D’Tigress and the first Nigerian National Female Basketball Team coach to win the FIBA AfroBasket Women competition since 1966.
At the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Nigeria’s D’Tigress became the first African team to qualify for the quarterfinals of basketball, earning her the FIBA Best Coach of the Tournament award.
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