OKLAHOMA CITY — Kemba Walker, we hardly knew ye.

The sentiment of that old Irish saying is very appropriate when it comes to Walker and the Thunder.

And the fans still won’t get to know Walker, as he was ruled out one hour before tipoff Friday night with a sore left knee. Walker was not listed on the injury report — and coach Tom Thibodeau thought he was playing — but Walker did something in warm-ups, according to a source, that compelled him to sit out.

Walker had played a back-to-back in Minnesota and Detroit on his arthritic left knee. It’s unknown if whatever ails him is serious or a decision to not play with fire.

Thunder general manager Sam Presti traded for Walker in June, obtaining him from the Celtics but ostensibly to get rid of his own bad contract in Al Horford and pick up an extra first-round draft pick in the deal.

That’s how desperate Brad Stevens was to move Walker and his arthritic left knee from Boston when he took over as president.

The deal went down on June 18, and speculation immediately arose that the rebuilding Thunder would attempt to peddle Walker’s $74 million contract in time for the season opener.

According to an NBA executive, Walker spent about a week in OKC after the trade with physicals, meeting staff, working out with a Thunder trainer and posing for promos in a light blue OKC jersey. In fact, a Google search shows you can still buy different editions of OKC Walker jerseys online. (It would have been epic for a trolling OKC fan wore one Friday night at Paycom Center upon the Knicks visit).

When Walker was here briefly, he went out to lunch with Mike Wilks, the OKC assistant who ran the bench Friday with Mark Daigneault out due to COVID-19.

“I met him; really nice guy,’’ Wilks said. “We had general conversations, but he’s a quality guy. Especially me being a former smaller guard, I always pulled for guys like him and have a lot of respect what he’s done in this league, this season, his professionalism, staying ready. What he’s been able to do throughout this year is a tribute to who he is as a player and person.’’

Of course, Walker never played a game with the Thunder, but Friday night he was back in the building with although he didn’t play. No video tribute was expected.

Presti had little success finding a smart deal for Walker, mostly because he still had two years and $74 million left on his contract.

Thanks to diligent work by his agent, Jeff Schwartz, once free agency began, Walker came back home to New York. According to a source, Walker’s reps at Excel Management helped broker an arrangement by keeping in contact with both the Knicks and Thunder.

The Knicks had a league-high cap space and no evident point guard to spend it on once free agents Chris Paul, Kyle Lowry and Spencer Dinwiddie were spoken for. (The team was not interested in Lonzo Ball.)

By giving up $20 million in a buyout package, Walker was able to recoup a lot of it by signing into the Knicks cap space — a two-year, $18 million deal with his hometown team to fulfill a Bronx dream.

Walker wouldn’t have given up that much cash in any other buyout scenario. And Presti realized Walker’s trade value wasn’t high and he wasn’t a fit in OKC with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as starting point guard.

Walker’s tale as a Knick has many chapters left in it after he emerged from a nine-game benching by Thibodeau in a move that raised eyebrows in the locker room and around the league.

Walker missed his first game Friday after capturing Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors with a 29-point restart in Boston, a 44-point night and a Christmas Day triple-double. He had been quiet the past two outings in Minnesota and Detroit, scoring 10 and two points, respectively.

The Knicks did not shoot around Friday morning because of NBA protocols, and no players were being made available for comment before the game.

The Knicks record since Walker’s return is 4-2 and entered Friday on a three-game winning streak. They were 2-7 without Walker.