The criteria for being a decent NBA centre are basically twofold -- if you're seven feet tall and have a pulse, you're gold. So it's understandable why, back in 2002, the moribund Houston Rockets franchise decided to spend a valuable draft pick on the seven-foot-six Chinese centre Yao Ming. Even in his late teens, Yao was inarguably the greatest Chinese basketball player of all time, but pundits predicted that the double-whammy transition to American pro sports and celebrity culture would prove difficult.

Well, not so much. Adam Del Deo and James Stern's polished doc The Year of the Yao showcases its subject's remarkable adroitness, both on and off the court, in his rookie season. At the age of 22, Yao not only became an NBA all-star but also an iconic figure in his native China. He probably couldn't have done it, though, without another rookie teammate: his full-time translator, Colin Pine. Their tender rapport creates the feeling of a Mutt-and-Jeff buddy comedy -- when Pine takes Yao to a Houston Taco Bell, the latter's deadpan dismissal of the cuisine ("this is not very good") is made funnier by his little buddy's enthused gobbling.

Sportswriters suspected that Yao knew more English than he let on but the film shows how much Pine's friendship and expertise helped the towering centre's development. When they part at the film's end, it's an airport goodbye worthy of Rick and Ilsa, if Ilsa had been a uni-browed Chinese leviathan.

If The Year of the Yao is ultimately more charming than terrific, it's probably due to the slickness of the filmmaking. The fast-cut montages of hardwood action and snatches of inspirational music suggest a SportsCenter update distended over 90 minutes. The film is at its best when the pace drops, the voice-over gives it a res, and Yao's engaging personality holds court.

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