While Kemba Walker has every reason to be frustrated with the New York Knicks after he was basically exiled, he is looking at his situation on a more positive note.

Before he was tapped by the Knicks to play again amid their COVID-19 outbreak, Walker had been taken out of the rotation by Tom Thibodeau. New York was “officially” done with him, and there were already talks of him being traded as the ‘Bockers attempt to get their defensive identity back.

But now that he is on the starting lineup again, Cardiac Kemba is proving to everyone that he can be a star for a playoff contender like the Knicks. While he does have his shortcomings, it is clear he is doing his best to contribute on the areas he knows best.

Despite that, though, the veteran guard is not blaming the Thibodeau and the Knicks for taking him out of the regular rotation, during which he missed nine straight games (and the team went 1-8). In fact, he sees the benching as a blessing in disguise since he needed that to realize what he needs to be.

“I just have a tendency to kind of not want to step on toes and I think that's what I did early on. I was here and I wasn't being as aggressive. But I think being out and seeing how the game has been going and flowing put me in a different mindset,” Walker shared, per ESPN.

“I'm over it. It don't matter anymore at this point. I just take it as a blessing. I think it was a blessing in disguise, to be honest.”

Indeed, Kemba Walker is truly back. And by the looks of it, he's here to stay. He powered the Knicks to a big Christmas Day win over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday, 101-87, and did so in style by becoming the first player in team history to have a triple-double on Christmas.

Walker finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. He didn't have the best stat line, as he shot 3-for-12 from the field, but his contributions in other areas are enough to propel them to victory. New York is also now 2-2 since the 31-year-old returned.