The Lakers were the team that all my friends talked about growing up in So Cal. Players I grew up with that reached legendary status in their own time included Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson. Wilt Chamberlain (RIP) and Kobe Bryant (RIP) are other players that were fan favorites and reached cult status. If there's a game on TV, you can bet that I'm tuning in!

The Lakers have won 17 NBA Championships and 1 NBL title along with 19 conference wins.  Here are the first three cards from my collection that I'm posting:  Ivica Zubac and Lonzo Ball from the 2017-18 Panini NBA Hoops set, and Wilt Chamberlain from the 2011-12 Panini NBA Hoops Hall of Fame Heroes subset.

I'm a fan of the fantasy world, even more so than sci-fi.  The Lord of the Rings surpasses Star Wars as my favorite show, and MTG gaming cards are at the top of my list of cards that instill excitement when opening the packs.  I opened a booster pack of Innistrad Midnight Hunt and, as usual, am pleased with the detailed artwork.  Rise of the Ants (#196) reminds me of the 1977 movie, Empire of the Ants, that featured the lovely Joan Collins.  Similarly impressive is Dawnhart Rejuvenator (#301).  I picture this sorceress appearing in a movie like The 13th Warrior or Clash of the Titans.

Pulling an insert from any pack is always fun, and here is Shipwreck Marsh (#75) from the Art Series.

The details on the Lands cards is astonishing, especially with the use of mist and sunlight.  Pictured here are Shipwreck Marsh (#267), Island (#271), and a Kher Keep (#275) which is actually from the 2006 MTG Time Spiral series.

A couple of other favorite cards pulled from the pack are the dual-sided Havesttide Infiltrator / Harvesttide Assailant (#293) and Tireless Hauler / Dire-Strain Brawler (#305).  The Infiltrator reminds me of an Orc from The Lord of the Rings:  The Return of the King, while the Hauler reminds me of a ghostly pirate from Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

Other cards pulled from the pack include a Foil parallel of Curse of Shaken Faith (#134) and these gaming cards:

• #005 Blessed Defiance
• #028 Mourning Patrol / Morning Apparition
• #192 Pestilent Wolf
• #199 Snarling Wolf
  
• #205 Turn the Earth

The great thing about MTG is that they're widely available and rarely sell out, even during times of a pandemic.  Furthermore, if you search Craigslist, OfferUp or another 2nd market app, you'll likely find a good deal.  I once aquired nearly 10,000 MTG cards for $60 - that lest than a penny per card!  If you are a fan a fantasy, I recommend picking up a pack, even if you don't play the game.

The card above is from the Fantasy Flight trading card game.  I often find the packs at Barnes & Noble, and although I don't play the game, I enjoy the artwork on the cards, especially as they often portray the side characters from the Star Wars universe.

I love the giddy excitement of getting something for free, and that's what happened in getting these 5x7 Star Wars:  The Last Jedi poster cards.  I got them from the Disney Movie Insiders program by redeeming points I earned from watching movies and entering reward codes throughout the years.  It's a great program where you can get cool merchandise like movies and Funko's.

I redeemed my points for these Topps cards and held onto them in their unsealed package for several years.  Now, I finally cut into the clear wrap and will display them in my collection.  My scanner is going kaput so it does no justice in showing the vividness of these cards.  They are double-sided with images but contain no details of what it's portraying other than the movie title on the bottom right corner.  I especially like the lightsabers!