The Most Joyous Video of the WNBA Season Belongs to a 5’5’’ Guard on the Aces

What Aces guard Mai Yamamoto lacks in height, she makes up for in ... just about every other aspect of her game. Just ask her teammates.

Yamamoto spoke with a team reporter following the Aces’ blowout win over the Sun, and it just might be the most wholesome on-court interview you’ll see in the WNBA this season.

“Mai, you are completely surrounded by love here, you have been an instant spark off the bench this season since your debut. What has allowed you to play with so much confidence?” reporter Marke Freeman asked.

“Just focus on what I can do. I want to help the team. Yeah, that’s it,” a beaming Yamamoto replied, as the Aces star trio of A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young leaned in to show the Japanese guard that they were listening—and that they had her back.

The interview continued for another minute during which Yamamoto continued to ace all her answers, and her Aces teammates continued to prove they were the world’s best hype group.

“I’m small so [when] they get in the paint, I can’t do [anything],” Yamamoto said of how she adapts to the length of opposing offenses. “So I have to—pick up, high pick-up point.” Yamamoto, whose native language is likely Japanese, was struggling for the right words at that moment, but her Aces teammates jumped right in. Yamamoto looked sideways at Gray, who was animatedly nodding in approval and gesturing for her to keep going.

Watch that minute and a half of pure, unadulterated girlhood below:

Fan favorite Mai Yamamoto does her post-game interview and her Aces teammates are all ears 😭🖤 pic.twitter.com/3Uykhcwazn
— tay 𑣲. (@zavanchy) August 21, 2026

Yamamoto finished with nine points on 3-of-6 shooting off the bench in the Aces’ 101-78 victory, adding two rebounds and three assists. She was +7 in her 20 minutes on the court, and she showed off her versatility as a Swiss-army player for coach Becky Hammon, accomplishing whatever was required of her.

Yamamoto, who was recently selected to represent Japan at the 2026 FIBA World Cup in Berlin, comes in as one of the W’s shortest players at just 5-foot-5, according to Basketball Reference. Yamamoto previously played for the Women’s Japan Basketball League (the W League) and made her first big impression on American audiences by dropping 24 points against the Aces in a preseason game with the Japanese national team in April. The Hiroshima native shot 7-for-13 from beyond the arc that game, and it’s safe to say Hammon was impressed enough to bring her in on a rest-of-season contract with the Aces in mid-July.

Since then, the 26-year-old Yamamoto has quickly carved out a rotational role for herself, and has grown into a fan favorite in Las Vegas for her infectious energy and unique, two-handed shooting stroke. (She even has her own nickname: Mai “Money” Yamamoto.)

During the Aces’ win over the Sun, her fans and teammates alike stood up to imitate her shot and follow-through after she made a trey:

“I love the reaction [of the fans],” Yamamoto said in her postgame interview. “So yeah, that’s it.”

Shared girlhood is what separates the WNBA from the NBA, and the league needs to embrace it now more than ever

Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson — The WNBA is one of the most inclusive leagues in sports, and it should stay that way. | Steph Chambers/Getty Images

In the 2026 season, the WNBA could use more joy. And players like Yamamoto bring it every time they step onto the court.

Amid a turbulent year filled with off-court controversy, the toxic narratives that have been circulated in the wake of Sophie Cunningham’s comments about trans athletes are getting increasingly difficult to ignore. The Fever guard spoke about her opposition to trans women and girls participating in sports in an ESPN profile that has since turned the WNBA into a political battleground.

“People are trying to use the league to sow divisiveness,” Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Thursday before the Fever’s game against the Wings.

“We’re being the center of political football for people who have never watched the WNBA, never have written about the WNBA or reported on the WNBA,” Engelbert added, echoing NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s use of the term “political football” to describe the discourses currently taking over the WNBA.

And yet, it’s the small joyful moments like Yamamoto’s interview that remind WNBA fans what the league is all about—and how the W’s vibes differ from, say, that of the men’s league. Those looking for controversy will find it, most likely via lowlight clips from BrickCenter. Those looking for camaraderie, personal triumph, competitive spirit and an untainted love for the game will find that, too.

It’s in DiJonai Carrington’s sweet forehead kiss to former teammate Natisha Hiedeman after the latter ran into a hard screen in a Sky-Storm game. It’s in Angel Reese’s on-court celebration after knocking down a three-pointer in the Dream’s win over the Sparks, one in which Reese sank each of her nine shots en route to a perfect game. And just last night, it’s in Sky rookie Sydney Taylor draining a game-winning three against the Valkyries and then getting picked up, Dirty Dancing style, by teammate Natasha Cloud, who lifted Taylor with her arms for everyone in Chicago’s home arena to admire and applaud.

It’s moments like these that will grow the league and the women’s game in the way it should be grown, and preserve the inclusive community of shared girlhood that the WNBA was always meant to represent.

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