Rena Wakama joins Chicago Sky: Nigeria's D'Tigress Coach, named Assistant WNBA team

Rena Wakama head coach of Nigeria’s women’s national basketball team, D’Tigress, has been appointed as an assistant coach for WNBA franchise Chicago Sky.

The Sky made the announcement on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, which is a significant step in Wakama’s burgeoning coaching career.

Wakama joins an all-female coaching staff under Head Coach Tyler Marsh, alongside assistants Courtney Paris and Tanisha Wright.

A standout collegiate player at Western Carolina University from 2010 to 2014, she earned Southern Conference All-Tournament Second Team honors and averaged 10.4 points per game in her senior year.

Chicago Sky head coach Tyler Marsh welcomed the addition of Wakama to the team.

On X he said, "If you watched how her teams competed at the Olympics & listen to how she inspires her players, you’d know that Rena is a star on the rise.

"I couldn’t be happier adding such a great coach to our staff & believing in the vision for #Skytown 🩵💛"

After a brief playing career, which included representing Nigeria, Wakama transitioned into coaching.

Her coaching career gained momentum with roles at Manhattan College and later at Stony Brook.

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In 2024, she joined Tulane as an assistant coach and ascended to global recognition came with her appointment as head coach of D’Tigress in June 2023.

She led Nigeria to a historic victory at the 2023 Women’s AfroBasket in Rwanda, becoming the first female coach to win the title since the competition’s inception.

Her crowning achievement came at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where, at just 32 years old, she became one of the youngest head coaches in Olympic history.

Wakama guided D’Tigress to unprecedented heights, securing wins against Australia and Canada in the group stage—marking the first time an African team, men’s or women’s, won two games at the Olympic Basketball Tournament.

This success propelled Nigeria to the quarterfinals, another historic first for an African team, and earned Wakama the FIBA Best Coach award for the Women’s Olympic Basketball Tournament.