Rena Wakama joins WNBA’s Chicago Sky as assistant coach

Rena Wakama has been named the new assistant coach at Chicago Sky of the US Women’s National Basketball Association (NWBA). 

Wakama, current head coach of the D’Tigress, Nigeria’s national women’s basketball team, was announced into her new role in a statement by Chicago Sky on Tuesday.

The 32-year-old US-born coach is the third assistant hired by Chicago Sky to support Tyler Marsh, the head coach.

Wakama joins the duo of Courtney Paris and Tanisha Wright as assistants ahead of the 2025 WNBA regular season starting in May.

Speaking on her appointment,  Wakama expressed eagerness to work with her team at Sky and with laurels for the basketball franchise.

“I am honored and thankful for Jeff and Tyler for granting me the opportunity to join the Chicago Sky family,” she said.

“Tyler has one of the best basketball minds in the industry, and I’m excited to help him bring his vision to life. I look forward to serving this organization and working alongside the other brilliant minds on staff to create a brand of basketball that is not only competitive but also fun to watch.

Wakama became the first female head coach of D’Tigress in 2023 and went on to become the female coach to win the FIBA AfroBasket Women competition in the same year.

She was also named the best coach of the tournament in the basketball event of the Paris 2024 Olympics, where she made further history by leading D’Tigress to become the first-ever African national side — male or female — to qualify for the quarterfinals in the Olympics.

In basketball, it is not uncommon for coaches to work with both national teams and clubs simultaneously. Mike Brown remained an associate coach at Golden State Warriors while he led the D’Tigers to the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.