So much of last season was spent pining over the numerous All-Stars heading to free agency. So much of the offseason was spent lamenting how hard the Knicks swung and how badly they missed on every name planned for the Madison Square Garden marquee.

Julius Randle wasn’t the team’s first choice. He wasn’t where fans envisioned $63 million being spent.

But the former seventh-overall pick believes he is worthy of the team’s top billing.

He believes the Knicks might not have missed out on All-Stars this summer.

“I just feel like situation and opportunity,” said Randle, when asked why he can achieve his goal to play in the 2020 All-Star Game in Chicago. “Everything I’ve been through in the past, all the work I’ve put in the past has prepared me for this opportunity now. So it’s just a goal of mine. Eventually you feel like you have an opportunity. I feel like I do. So it’s a goal of mine.”

The opportunity comes from Randle, 25, being the team’s top offensive option, from being the rare player on the roster in his prime.

After four uneven seasons with the Lakers, the 6-foot-9 power forward broke out with the Pelicans last season, amidst the Anthony Davis drama. Randle averaged a career-high 21.4 points, along with 8.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists, while shooting 52.4% from the field.

Now, the Knicks’ highest-paid player enters the first season of his three-year deal as the first option for the first time since leading Kentucky to the 2014 national championship game as a freshman, when Randle was often discussed as a future NBA All-Star.

Carmelo Anthony remains the only Knick to play in the All-Star Game since 2013. Kristaps Porzingis was named an All-Star two seasons ago, but tore his ACL soon afterward.

“You relish it, but you gotta understand everything that comes with it,” Randle said following Monday’s practice. “The opportunities that come with it are great, but I’ve said it a million times — I gotta make everybody else better. You watch films, teams are loading up on me trying to take away what I do, so you gotta make everybody else better. You gotta understand what comes with it and be patient.

“I just gotta recognize situations, recognize how defenses guard me, and yeah, be that playmaker role, too. … I gotta make the right play every time even if it’s not for me.”

To become an All-Star, Randle understands how much winning would help. He also understands how hard that will be, having joined a franchise with six straight losing seasons.

By ending the Knicks’ drought, Randle would end his quest for his first playoff berth.

“It’s extremely important,” Randle said. “That’s what you work hard for. You talk about opportunity, this is my opportunity to be a real leader. So I just want to make sure everybody is connected and we get better every day. I like our team compared to a lot of other teams. We do what we need to do every day to get better — that mental focus, lock in, stay connected. I like our team.

“It’s a situation where we’re building from the ground up and I like that. I don’t want to just walk into a situation that was ready-made. I enjoy the adversity. I embrace it. I embrace the challenge. For me this is fun. This is my comfort zone — being uncomfortable.”