Rena Wakama, OON, born on April 11, 1992, is a Nigerian basketball coach and former player. She currently leads the Nigeria Senior Women’s Basketball Team (D’Tigress) as their head coach and also serves as an assistant coach with the Chicago Sky in the WNBA. She made history in 2023 as the first woman to coach Nigeria’s national women’s team and the first female coach to win the FIBA Women’s AfroBasket title.
Rena Wakama Profile
| Name | Rena Wakama |
| Real Name | Rena Wakama |
| Date of Birth | 11 April 1992 |
| Age | 33 years |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Occupation | Basketball Coach and Former player |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Marital Status | Single |
| Net Worth | $700,000 |
| Copied from | contents101.com |
Educational Background
Rena Wakama studied Therapeutic Recreation at Western Carolina University, where she also played college basketball. Later, she earned a master’s degree in Business Administration from Manhattan College.
Career
Rena’s passion for basketball started when she was young, inspired by her cousin, Onimisi Aiyede. She played college basketball for the Western Carolina Catamounts for four years. After graduating, she joined Nigeria’s national team and represented the country at the 2015 AfroBasket Women’s tournament in Cameroon, where they finished in third place.
Rena also played for Nigeria’s First Bank Women’s Basketball team at the FIBA Africa Champions Cup. After her playing career, she worked at Manhattan College as Director of Women’s Basketball Operations, then as an assistant coach. There, she focused on developing young players and oversaw academics and community outreach for the team.
In 2023, she was appointed as the head coach of Nigeria’s D’Tigress. That same year, she led the team to win the AfroBasket championship becoming the first woman to do so. She also coached the team to a historic victory at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, where D’Tigress became the first African team to reach the quarterfinals in Olympic basketball. In 2025, under her leadership, D’Tigress won their fifth AfroBasket title in a row and seventh overall, beating Mali 78–64 in the final.
Controversies
Rena Wakama’s controversy lies in the fact that she broke long-standing norms in African basketball. She became the first woman to coach Nigeria’s women’s basketball team a decision that initially raised eyebrows in a male-dominated space.
Critics doubted her ability to succeed, but she proved them wrong by making history back-to-back. From winning AfroBasket as a rookie coach in 2023, to leading the team to Olympic glory in 2024, and then securing another AfroBasket win in 2025 she silenced doubters with results.
Rena Wakama Social Media Handle
https://www.instagram.com/_coachre/?hl=en
Personal Life
Rena was born in Raleigh, North Carolina to Nigerian parents from Okrika, Rivers State, Johnson Wakama and Rosana Oba. She is passionate about building a legacy, mentoring young women, and using basketball to inspire lives.
Rena Wakama Net Worth
Rena Wakama’s net worth is estimated to be around $700,000.