T A TEAM practice in December 1997, the Golden State Warriors head coach P.J. Carlesimo yelled at his star player, Latrell Sprewell, telling him to "put some mustard on those passes." Enraged by the comment and other perceived slights, Sprewell, a six-year veteran and three-time All-Star, suddenly attacked him. Sprewell choked Carlesimo and threatened to kill him. After Sprewell was pulled off his coach by teammates, he left the gym, only to return 20 minutes later and attack Carlesimo again.

Ten days later, the Warriors terminated the remaining three years on Sprewell’s four-year, $32-million contract. The league followed up with a yearlong suspension, the longest penalty it has ever handed out for a non-drug offense. An arbitrator later reduced the suspension, allowing Sprewell to return to the court with a new team, the New York Knicks. In the meantime, the national furor over the choking incident had made Sprewell infamous, even after he apologized.

LITTLE OVER two years since he was labeled as one of sport’s all-time villains, Latrell Sprewell is a hero and a fan favorite. His transformation from national pariah to local icon is a classic New York story.

"He’s redone his image," says Kathleen Hessert, a Charlotte-based specialist in helping athletes reconstruct their public images. "New York is part of the reason he was able to do it and do it so quickly."

Young fans, in particular, hail Sprewell as a hero. "The kids identify with him," says Bobby Dunn of New York’s Police Athletic League. "They rally around him as an underdog who was in a fight with the establishment and came out ahead."

Sprewell’s redemption, though, got off to a slow start in New York. He began feuding with his new coach, Jeff Van Gundy, and bewildered some basketball observers with his seemingly blasé attitude toward winning.

Then, the improbable occurred. The Knicks rallied to make the playoffs and began an exciting run all the way to the NBA Finals. Sprewell emerged as a true New York sports star, electrifying the Garden crowds with his hyper-kinetic drives to the basket, tenacious defense and chest-bumping attitude. The cornrows and scowl became cool.

PREWELL TOLD The Sporting News after the NBA Finals that he had grown accustomed to the controversy. "I’m not surprised that time has healed a lot of it," he said. "People have a tendency to forgive and forget as time goes along. Some people like me, some people don’t. I totally expect that."

And since the end of last season, for the most part, the Knicks have been winning. The team has won 44 and lost 27 games this year, tied for first in its division, and is among the favorites to return to the NBA Finals. This season, Sprewell has meshed with the Knicks other stars, averaging 19 points and 4 assists a game. Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy has even called Sprewell the team’s most coachable player.

"It’s a love fest with Latrell and New York," says Mark Chernoff, program director of WFAN sports-talk radio. "Winning makes it easier."

Hessert says Sprewell’s success on the court guarantees fans will have a short memory of his attack on Carlesimo. "If he wasn’t winning, they’d still remember the bad stuff," she says.