The Las Vegas Aces just made a huge splash, officially signing guard Mai Yamamoto to a rest of season contract on Friday night. This move hits right after the tough news that rookie forward Janiah Barker is out for the rest of the season due to injury. Talk about needing a pick-me-up, huh?
The Star Who Torched Them Is Now With Them
Yamamoto isn’t just some random signing; she’s a familiar face, and the Aces are probably breathing a huge sigh of relief to have her on their side this time around. Remember April 26? That’s when the Aces faced Team Japan in a preseason exhibition. Yamamoto wasn’t just good; she was absolutely lights out, easily the best player on the court for Japan, raining down seven three-pointers and racking up a whopping 24 points. It’s wild to think she was carving them up just a few months ago, and now she’s going to be wearing their colors. While she’s only had a “brief cup of coffee” with the Dallas Wings before the 2025 season in terms of WNBA experience, her international resume is stacked. She’s been a star in multiple FIBA World Cup and Asian Cup renditions, plus she put up 17 points, three rebounds, and five assists when Japan faced Team USA in the 2024 Olympics. This woman knows how to ball.
Aces’ Offensive Woes Demand a Change
Let’s be real, the Aces desperately need this kind of spark. They’ve been trying to find players to provide scoring punch beyond their main trio of A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, and Chelsea Gray, but the offseason acquisitions haven’t exactly lit it up. Stephanie Talbot and Brianna Turner have been solid on defense, no doubt, but combined, they’re barely scratching five points per game. And Chennedy Carter? She looked like she was finding her rhythm as a microwave scorer off the bench, but things went south fast, scoring over 10 points only once since May 31 before getting waived. Yeah, not ideal. A healthy Dana Evans and Justine Pissott’s “eyebrow-raising start” from the bench are helping, but Becky Hammon and Nikki Fargas clearly felt they needed to do more. There’s zero doubt they did their homework on Yamamoto after that Japan game, and what they saw was enough to give her a shot to see if that impressive preseason performance translates to the regular season. Will it be enough?
Now, we just gotta watch and see if Yamamoto can bring that same electric energy and scoring power to the Aces’ regular season games. This is exactly the kind of move that could light a fire and give this team the offensive boost they’ve been searching for.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
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