Kemba Walker made a name for himself as a high school star in New York City. More than a decade later, the 31-year-old point guard is coming home, signing a contract with the Knicks after agreeing to a buyout with the Thunder. Here’s a look at some other notable Big Apple homecomings — and how they worked out.

Julius Erving

The ABA’s Virginia Squires traded Erving — who grew up in Roosevelt, a few miles away from the Nassau Coliseum — to the Nets in 1973. “Dr. J” won two ABA MVPs and led the Nets to two ABA titles in his three years with the team.

Nick Fotiu

Fotiu was the first New York City-born Ranger — growing up in the Dongan Hills-South Beach section of Staten Island — joining the team from the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association in 1976. In eight seasons with the Blueshirts across two tenures, he was the team’s enforcer.

John Franco

The Brooklyn-born closer became an All-Star with the Reds, before returning to the Big Apple for 14 seasons, getting traded to the Mets for Randy Myers in 1989. Franco was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 2012 after recording 276 saves for the Amazin’s.

Bernard King

The four-time NBA All-Star does not have his number retired with the Knicks, but many think he should. After the Golden State Warriors sent the Brooklyn native home in 1982, he electrified Madison Square Garden for four years, averaging 26.5 and 5.2 rebounds points per game.

Willie Randolph

Randolph grew up near the site of Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, but made his mark with a different New York City team. The Samuel J. Tilden High School graduate spent 13 years with the Yankees after being acquired from the Pirates in 1975, batting .275/.374/.357 and winning two World Series rings.

Vinny Testaverde

Testaverde made the trek back to the tri-state area in 1998. The Brooklyn-born, Elmont-raised quarterback kick-started the “Monday Night Miracle” comeback and led the Jets to an AFC East title — while earning a Pro Bowl appearance — in his first year with his hometown team.

Joe Torre

In perhaps the best Big Apple homecoming of all time, Torre — the only New York City-born manager (Brooklyn) in Yankees’ history — made the playoffs in all 12 of his seasons, winning six American League pennants, four World Series titles and two Manager of the Year awards.

Bobby Bonilla

July 1 will always be known as Bobby Bonilla Day, a day when the Mets pay Bonilla $1,193,248 until 2035 — when the switch hitter will be 72. Bonilla, who hailed from The Bronx, signed a celebrated five-year, $29 million deal with the Mets in 1991, with much of the money deferred, but had clashes with managers and the press during his short time with the team.

Larry Brown

Larry Brown is considered one of the best NBA coaches of all time, but when the Brooklyn native returned to New York in 2005, it did not go well. The Knicks fired him on June 23, 2006 — only a year into his record-breaking, five-year, $50 million contract — after he had a public feud with Stephon Marbury and a pitiful 23–59 season.

Joakim Noah

Noah signed a four-year, $72 million contract in 2016 — one of the worst deals in team history. During his tumultuous stretch with the Knicks, the New York City native battled knee injuries — plus he received a drug suspension and G-League demotion.

Stephon Marbury

The Coney Island-born Marbury — acquired by the Knicks in a monster 2003 trade with the Pheonix Suns — had many public spats with Larry Brown, testified in a sexual harassment lawsuit, argued over playing time with Isiah Thomas and was banned from practices and games.

Kevin Shattenkirk

This one started well — Shattenkirk left money on the table to sign a four-year contract with the Rangers in the 2017 NHL offseason. But it ended poorly — the New Rochelle native underwent season-ending surgery halfway through his first season and was bought out just over a year later.

Carmelo Anthony

An NBA star born in Brooklyn playing for the Knicks sounds like a fairytale —but this one was underwhelming overall. While Anthony’s individual statistics were impressive, the Knicks won just one playoff series in his seven seasons after trading significant assets to acquire the forward from the Nuggets in 2011.

Boomer Esiason

Esiason is a top broadcaster. A quarterback? It is complicated. The East Islip native came to the Jets in 1993 after a successful run with the Bengals, but struggled in three seasons under three different head coaches before suffering a serious concussion in 1995.

Chris Mullin

Mullin came to St. John’s after growing up in Brooklyn and quickly emerged as the greatest player in program history. However, his tenure as a coach did not go as well — he resigned in 2019 after four years on the job, citing a “personal loss.” The Red Storm went 59-73 overall and 20-52 in Big East play, though the Johnnies did finish 21-13 and made the NCAA Tournament in his final season.