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It's been 13 years since Latrell Sprewell stepped foot inside Madison Square Garden. The former New York Knicks player, who was traded to Minnesota in 2003, returned to the world famous arena Sunday afternoon to watch the team play the San Antonio Spurs. Even more surprising is where he sat -- next to Knicks owner James Dolan.

Sprewell spent five seasons with the Knicks from 1998 to 2003, and led the team to a Finals appearance in '99. He later returned to MSG in 2003 with the Wolves and dropped 51 points ... and an expletive-laden rant directed at Dolan. It did not exactly sit well with the Knicks owner afterward.

Said Dolan in response to that tirade, via the New York Daily News: "All I can tell you is that he doesn't belong in our stadium."

When asked on the ABC broadcast why he had not been back to the Garden, Sprewell chose to shift the topic toward a positive.

"I can't tell you why I haven't been back here, but I'll tell you when I left, I was not happy," Sprewell said. "New York is like a second home for me. I love the fans here. The fans have embraced me. There's no place like the Garden to play in. I mean, who wouldn't want to play in the Garden?"

In addition to sitting courtside with the owner, the Knicks pulled out all the stops to make sure everyone knew it had good relations with former players. The video board showed Larry Johnson, Bernard King, Vin Baker, Kenny Walker and Herb Williams were all in attendance at the game.

This is finally a good development for the Knicks organization. After an incident involving former Knick Charles Oakley and the Madison Square Garden security team on Wednesday, the organization banned him indefinitely and released a controversial statement on the situation suggesting he might have a problem with alcohol but adding that "we don't know."

Amazingly, the product on the floor has been just as bad as off the floor. The team has gone 7-20 since Christmas day. But with a 94-90 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, coupled with Sprewell's return, there's finally some positive vibes in New York. Even if it's just for a day, that's a sliver of hope in what has been an otherwise forgettable February.