The Year of the Yao Photo

The Year of the Yao

Starring: Charles Barkley, Steve Francis, Michael Irvin, Ernie Johnson, Cuttino Mobley

Directed by: Adam Del Deo, James D. Stern

RS: 3of 4 Stars

2006

This is not only a great hoops tale but a crucial East-meets-West film about Houston Rocket Yao Ming's NBA rookie year and what may be the first movie to connect Chairman Mao with Charles Barkley. How does the seven-foot-six twenty-two-year-old reconcile his Chinese upbringing with life dunking on Shaq and filming TV spots with Mini-Me? Yao: "How does a blade of grass thank the sun?"

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