The Hype: Thunder's Carmelo Anthony Returns to Madison Square Garden

Carmelo Anthony will go back home Saturday night. This time, however, he will don an Oklahoma City Thunder uniform and battle the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Some fans will remember the low points of his Knicks tenure, which commenced when they traded for him in 2011 instead of waiting for his pending free agency. They missed the playoffs in each of the last four seasons under four different head coaches.

But it wasn't all bad. His 28.7 points per game led the NBA in 2012-13, a season in which New York won 54 games with the best offensive rating (111.1 points per 100 possessions) in franchise history, per Basketball Reference.

The forward represented the Knicks in six straight All Star Games and ranks seventh on their all-time scoring leaderboard. He also set a team record by scoring 62 points Jan. 24, 2014.

Anthony's arrival brought excitement back to the Big Apple. Fans have an opportunity to extend some gratitude when his Thunder go to New York a night after they won a triple-overtime thriller at the Philadelphia 76ers.