When Sky assistant coach Rena Wakama was offered the Nigerian national team head coaching job in 2023, friends and family warned against it. There were too many red flags. Former coach Otis Hughley had resigned amid a contract dispute with the Nigerian Basketball Federation, saying he hadn’t been paid. Other organizational dysfunction caused several stars to skip tryouts altogether. The mess spooked people. But Wakama felt she built for the opportunity. “I’m so glad I did because it changed my life,” she said. At the time, she was at a crossroads. After several years as an assistant for Manhattan College, she’d begun questioning whether coaching was her calling. The Nigeria offer gave her clarity. “God was like: no girl, you’re supposed to be coaching,” she said. Barely a month into the job, she became the first female Nigerian coach to ever win the AfroBasket title. At the Paris Olympics in 2024, Wakama led the Nigerian team to the quarterfinals — the first African team in history to get that far. They eventually lost to Team USA, but she was named Best Coach of the tournament. The calls kept coming. In 2025, Sky head coach Tyler Marsh asked if she’d consider his staff. “He thought I didn’t want to transition from college, but I was like no — I’m coming. If you want me, I’m coming,” she said. Marsh has supported her dual role, including a midseason break to coach Nigeria at AfroBasket. Preparation was chaotic. Bureaucratic delays meant her team didn’t end up practicing together until six days before the tournament, while other teams had been practicing for weeks. “I didn’t sleep ever,” she said. “We looked God awful the first couple days and I’m like you know what? Just be patient. My girls came through. We figured it out as the tournament went on.” The peak came in the semifinals against Senegal, now coached by former Nigerian coach Hughley. “When you go to the other side, there’s a lot of emotional animosity,” Wakama said of the game. Nigeria trailed in the fourth quarter but “found away,” pulling out a 75-68 win. They then beat Mali in the final, giving Wakama her second AfroBasket crown — and Nigeria its fifth straight. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu awarded the players cash prizes of $100,000, which Wakama believes signals growing support for women’s basketball. Elevating how women’s sports are seen in Nigeria is part of her mission. “We have the talent and it’s sad that our talent goes elsewhere to play,” she said. “I don’t blame them because we’re still working on building the correct infrastructure.” Wakama, born in the U.S. to Nigerian parents, played at Western Carolina and now recruits Nigerian players in the States to represent their home country. Her aim is to reach them early, before they commit to Team USA and lose the chance to play for Nigeria. She’s also learning under Marsh, whose approach to relationship-building she admires even in a tough season. Her work now stretches from the Sky’s locker room to Nigeria’s national team — and she’s intent on leaving both better than she found them.