Rena Wakama, coach of Nigeria’s D’Tigress, has been named the best coach in the women’s basketball event at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Wakama made history as the first coach of Nigeria’s national women’s basketball team to win the Women’s Afrobasket title since the competition’s inception in 1966.

Under her leadership, the Nigerian women’s team reached the quarter-finals of the tournament for the first time in history, marking them as the first-ever African team, male or female, to advance to this stage of the event. Despite their impressive run, Nigeria eventually exited the women’s basketball event with a 74-88 loss to the United States.

A tweet from the International Basketball Federation’s official X handle on Sunday evening read: “Best coach of #Paris2024 Women’s Basketball, Rene Wakama, Nigeria.”

Joining the 32-year-old Wakama in the accolades was D’Tigress’ point guard, Ezinne Kalu, who was named to the All-Second Team of the Olympics Women’s Basketball.

In 2023, Wakama became the first female head coach of D’Tigress. Prior to that, she served as the director of women’s basketball operations and later became an assistant coach in her third year, where she continued to develop talents while also acting as the team’s academic and community service liaison.