Top 10 returns to Minnesota by former athletes since 2000

Kevin Durant returned to play against Oklahoma City for the first time Saturday since signing in the offseason with Golden State.

He was booed (predictably).

Russell Westbrook tried to be a hero (predictably).

And Durant got the last laugh in a 130-114 win for the Warriors, in which he scored 34 points in 33 minutes (also predictably).

It doesn't always happen that way, of course. In fact, in the past 20 years of Minnesota sports history, athletes who used to play for local teams before leaving have pretty much run the gamut in how their return games played out. Let's take a look at some of the highlights, in chronological order of their first game back:

Stephon Marbury — Feb. 20, 2000: The former Timberwolves guard returned to Minnesota with the Nets for the first time since forcing a trade and breaking the hearts of many fans who had visions of a Kevin Garnett/Marbury duo dominating for years to come. Marbury, perhaps the most Westbrook-like player in Wolves history, had a very Durant-like return. He scored 39 points amid a chorus of boos from Wolves fans, leading the Nets to a 91-89 victory. Garnett went just 9 for 33 from the field, calling it a "tough, tough game" afterwards.

Chuck Knoblauch — May 2, 2001: Technically, Knoblauch's first game back with the Yankees after being traded by the Twins was May 8, 1998. But nobody remembers that. Everybody remembers the game three years later, when angry Twins fans — awakening after years of slumber while Minnesota was terrible — pelted the field with dollar hot dogs (and worse) when the Twins played the Yankees. It was so bad that Tom Kelly had to come out to left field to plead with fans. I was at that game. I was sitting in left field. I did not throw anything. I stand by that story. (It's true).

Torii Hunter — March 31, 2008: This shows how much being well-liked during your time here can carry over. Hunter, even after signing as a free agent with the Angels after the 2007 season, was showered with applause in his first game back in Minnesota — which happened on Opening Day that season at the Metrodome. Hunter went 0-for-4 and the Twins won 3-2.

Kevin Garnett — Nov. 21, 2008: This one was strangely anti-climactic, since Garnett missed his first game back at Target Center with the Celtics due to injury the previous season. By the time he came back for the 2008-09 season, he had won a championship with the Celtics. The Wolves, meanwhile, were going the opposite direction. That was clear enough when KG scored 17 points in an easy Boston victory.

Carlos Gomez — May 21, 2010: The script couldn't have played out any more aptly. Gomez came back to Target Field with his new team, the Brewers, and crushed a three-run homer in his first game — trimming a 15-0 Twins lead to 15-3 in the eighth inning. The game situation didn't stop Gomez from flinging his bat and admiring the blast, drawing the ire of his former teammates. "Things never change," said Ron Gardenhire, the Twins manager at the time.

Marian Gaborik — Nov. 20, 2010: After spurning the Wild's lucrative contract offer and signing with the Rangers, Gaborik was booed every time he touched the puck in his first game back with New York. The Rangers, though, prevailed 5-2 and Gaborik had an assist in the game. "Finally, it's over with," Gaborik said afterward, admitting he was nervous beforehand.

Randy Moss — Sept. 23, 2012: This one was pretty anticlimactic by the time it finally happened nearly eight years after Moss was traded by the Vikings (and two years after they traded for him and released him). He never faced his former team in the regular season — home or away — until his final season with the 49ers in 2012. He caught three passes for 27 yards, and the Vikings won 24-13.