A brief sampling of starting forwards in the NBA’s annual Christmas Day buffet of marquee games: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Noah Vonleh.

Yes, Vonleh and the Knicks (9-25) are something of an exception on a noon-to-night slate that trends toward the league’s biggest stars, best teams and hottest rivalries. They have the famous building, Madison Square Garden, where they will host the Bucks in a matinee to open the five-game feast. And, absent superstar Kristaps Porzingis for at least two more months, they have a collection of unproven youngsters and journeymen scrambling for footholds among the NBA’s big shots.

This season’s Knicks roster is in some ways typified by Vonleh, a 23-year-old former lottery pick playing in his first Christmas Day game, in his fifth season in the NBA, on his fourth team. The national television spotlight, the unfettered attention of the sports world, can mean something extra when it doesn’t come around every Yuletide.

“In this league, I feel like players are watching, even when it’s not Christmas, players around the league know what’s going on with other players and are watching different games, so it’s great,” Vonleh said. “They’re gonna be with their families spending time together opening gifts, and they’re gonna be watching those [five] games.”

Vonleh moved into the starting lineup before Thanksgiving, and he has used the opportunity to produce career-high numbers nearly across the board: 26.6 minutes, 8.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.9 blocks, 37.7 percent shooting from 3.

“Starting over here and getting meaningful minutes, consistent minutes, that means a lot,” Vonleh said. “I’m happy to be with this team, happy to be in this system under [head coach David Fizdale], and just being able to showcase a little bit more of my game and just continuing to grow as a player.”

The Knicks’ core begins with Porzingis, second-year puzzle Frank Ntilikina and the rookie trio of Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson and Allonzo Trier. But the Knicks are also stocked with reclamation projects, high first-round picks whose first (or second) team gave up on them: Vonleh, starting point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, Mario Hezonja, Trey Burke. Jabari Parker, who also matches that description and is currently out of the Bulls rotation, has been linked with the Knicks in a potential trade.

“They can see that they come here and get an opportunity to get rebooted and that we’re going to pour a lot of love into a player and a lot of work into him and that we don’t judge people based on what happened before they got to us,” Fizdale said. “We’re willing to give guys a shot like that. And hopefully with what we’ve been doing with some of these guys, other guys who may have struggled in another place that have talent, that might be someone that we can land.”

It’s Vonleh who lands the most difficult rise-and-shine assignment at tipoff on Tuesday: guarding Antetokounmpo, the MVP candidate with the stride length of a large reindeer.

“Well, he’s a freak,” Vonleh said, somewhat redundantly, of the Greek Freak. “He’s long, he’s got a great physique. He can do a lot of things out there on the floor. He’s a tough cover.”

Vonleh, listed at 6-foot-9, questioned whether Antetokounmpo, listed at 6-foot-11, “might be 7-feet.”

It’s fair to wonder. The 24-year-old leads the league with 130 dunks (4.3 per game) and by shooting 65.4 percent on 2-pointers, nearly unheard-of marks for a perimeter player.

“He can handle the ball, he can knock down the mid-range, he’ll shoot the 3 — it’s a challenge,” Vonleh said. “He has the ball in his hands every possession, so you’re not going to stop a guy like that, you can only try to contain him or make it difficult for him. … That’s really the only thing you can do.”

Still, try talking Vonleh and the Knicks out of the thrill of a headlining spot on Dec. 25, when the NBA season seems to truly begin in earnest.

“We’re the first game, so we can tip off their Christmas Day,” Vonleh said. “I’m looking forward to playing in that.”