The year 2024 will go down in the history of Nigeria Basketball globally as the year D’Tigress rewrote the history of women’s basketball in Africa.
Since the turn of the millennium, Nigeria’s women’s basketball team has been the continent’s dominant side, but despite their recognition in Africa, the West African side had failed to translate that success onto the global stage until August 2024 where they finally made an indelible mark on the global stage at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Despite their previous struggles, which include governance issues that led to their absence from the 2022 FIBA World Cup and a tumultuous last appearance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, D’Tigress rebounded spectacularly.
Their victory at the 2023 AfroBasket in Kigali, Rwanda, where they claimed their fourth consecutive title, set the stage for this remarkable Olympic journey.
They defeated Senegal 84-74, marking their sixth overall AfroBasket title, and became the first team to win under coach Rena Wakama, who made history as the first female head coach to secure an AfroBasket title in Maputo, Mozambique.
Besides winning their fourth African title in a row, D’Tigress closed the year’s campaign unbeaten (5-0), which saw them extend their continental winning streak to 24-0, dating back to the 2015 Women’s AfroBasket third-place game in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Ahead of the Olympics, doubts lingered about D’Tigress’ ability to replicate their AfroBasket title heroics in Paris, but they proved critics wrong surpassing expectations.
Most of the Nigerian players who flew the country’s flag at the 2024 Olympic Women’s Basketball tournament were toddlers when Zaire (DR Congo) became the first African country to participate in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, USA.
Apart from the Congolese, four other African countries, including Senegal (2000 and 2016), Nigeria (2004, 2020 and 2024), Mali (2008) and Angola (2012) have represented the continent at the Olympics, with modest results.
But when a group of Nigerian players led by Wakama travelled to Paris for the 2024 Olympics, there was only one goal in mind and that was to make history.
Apart from Nigeria’s 1-5 record at the 2004 Athens Olympics, no other African team had ever won a game in the history of the tournament, with a win-loss record of 1-36 dating back to 1996.
But Paris 2024 belonged to D’Tigress.
The four-time defending Women’s AfroBasket champions heading into their first game at the 2024 Olympics against world number two Australia, were the lowest-ranked team in the tournament.
They opened their campaign with a stunning 75-62 upset victory over Australia. D’Tigress not only win but did so in emphatic style, winning three of four quarters, including a sensational 11-0 run that helped them to a 13-point lead in the first quarter.
In doing so, they became the first African team to defeat the Opals in 12 games at a major tournament, including the World Cup.
Before then, Nigeria had never before won a pool game at the Olympic Games. Their nine previous pool games all ended in defeat, and their only win, 20 years ago, came in a classification game against South Korea, whom they defeated 68-64.
They also put up a fight against hosts France before losing 75-54.
However, it was Nigeria’s 79-70 victory over Canada, a top-10 team in the FIBA World Ranking that changed the history of women’s basketball in Africa as they advanced to the quarter-finals.
By reaching the quarter-finals of the Olympic Games, where they were beaten by eventual champions USA, Nigeria became the first African team (men or women) to ever reach this stage.
Forward Nicole Enabosi believes their performances in France reflect the squad’s fighting spirit.
“This is our job and we have to take care of business,” she said. “No matter what we had to go through, the adversity, we were still able to come out on top. It shows the magic behind basketball.”
Coach Wakama highlighted the potential for growth in African basketball: “If we invest in Africa we are capable of doing really amazing things. We have to put some eyes on Africa and develop the game there.”
Inspired by Wakama, who was just two years old when DR Congo became the first African country to represent the continent at the Olympics 28 years ago, Nigeria eventually climbed to ninth in the current FIBA World Ranking and closed the year at No.8.
It’s the first time an African country has been ranked in the top 10 of the FIBA World Ranking.
Way Forward
For Nigeria, building on successes always appears to be a bridge too far.
When the cadet football team won the first FIFA U-16 World Championship, much was expected to be built from there; it never happened. When the senior men’s football team wowed the world at the 1994 World Cup, it was expected to be the foundation for more success; it never materialised.
When Chioma Ajunwa became the first Nigerian — man or woman — to win an Olympic gold medal, at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, where she was quickly followed by the men’s football team, the floodgates were expected to open; Nigeria’s men’s 4x400m relay squad won gold at the 2000 Games in Sydney, but, alas, no more Olympic titles have followed.
So while Nigerians celebrate the accomplishments of D’Tigress this year, there is no guarantee that things will change significantly any time soon. There is still no running national league in the country, and internal divisions remain within the board of the basketball federation even as they continue to battle outside opposition.
And the achievements of this team did not come without being forged in all too familiar — and avoidable — fires.
Udoka wants to see change catalysed by what the women have achieved through sheer determination.
“It’s just grit and toughness and Nigerian spirit,” she said. “The thing that bothers me is that we’ve always found a way to get it done despite whatever is going on, and I just wonder when we are ever going to get to the point as a country, and as a basketball team, when we do not have to say we did this despite poor planning or poor organisation.
“We should not have to say we overcame against all odds. It should just be smooth sailing. With the way we’ve kind of dominated Africa, we are a legitimate team. Why do we keep saying ‘they won in spite of’? That bothers me. I can’t wait to do it properly for once.
“Just think how far this team could go if things are done properly, and we could have some of the exceptional talent in the WNBA. Obviously, we have talent all over the world. We have that opportunity to make history, and we’ve done it. Hopefully, we will build on that.”
Such progress could open the doors for Nigeria’s national teams to draw on the experience and talent of players from the WNBA, NBA, and beyond.
Three years ago, Nneka Ogwumike and Chiney Ogwumike were denied permission to switch allegiance from the U.S. to represent Nigeria; and Chicago Sky’s Michaela Onyenwere was close to joining this roster, but “she was not cleared to join yet,” Nigeria Basketball Federation vice-president Babs Ogunade told ESPN.
Arike Ogunbowale and Elizabeth Williams could also bring heavy ammunition to the roster.
How good would D’Tigress be with that depth and quality?
But for now, Nigerians are still celebrating the women who have put their team and country on the map.
