Larry Bird vs Magic Johnson
2of 3 lines
1of 3 lines
Larry Bird and Magic Johnson compared on their NBA careers: Larry Bird played 13 seasons, 1979-80 to 1991-92, Magic Johnson 13 seasons, 1979-80 to 1995-96. Larry Bird averaged 24.3 points a game to Magic Johnson's 19.5. They have faced each other 37 times: Larry Bird's team won 15, Magic Johnson's 22. In the playoffs Magic Johnson leads 11-8. Larry Bird won 3 titles, Magic Johnson won 5 titles.
Who has the better career numbers?
Larry Bird leads in 2 of the 3 lines, Magic Johnson in 1. Bold marks the better figure; playing time — games, minutes, at-bats, innings — is not scored.
Larry Bird vs Magic Johnson head to head
They have faced each other 37 times: Larry Bird's team won 15, Magic Johnson's 22. In the playoffs Magic Johnson leads 11-8.
Every game against each other
| Feb 15, 1991 |  BOS at  LAL | W 98-85 | 11 PTS, 11 REB, 11 AST, 40 MIN | 21 PTS, 9 REB, 16 AST, 41 MIN |
| Feb 18, 1990 | BOS at LAL | L 116-110 | 20 PTS, 7 REB, 7 AST, 46 MIN | 30 PTS, 4 REB, 13 AST, 38 MIN |
| Dec 15, 1989 | LAL at BOS | L 119-110 | 21 PTS, 12 REB, 2 AST, 43 MIN | 16 PTS, 6 REB, 21 AST, 43 MIN |
| Feb 14, 1988 | BOS at LAL | L 115-106 | 25 PTS, 17 REB, 4 AST, 40 MIN | 22 PTS, 5 REB, 14 AST, 42 MIN |
| Dec 11, 1987 | LAL at BOS | L 115-114 | 35 PTS, 9 REB, 8 AST, 43 MIN | 18 PTS, 8 REB, 17 AST, 44 MIN |
| Jun 14, 1987 | BOS at LAL (playoffs) | L 106-93 | 16 PTS, 9 REB, 5 AST, 41 MIN | 16 PTS, 8 REB, 19 AST, 42 MIN |
| Jun 11, 1987 | LAL at BOS (playoffs) | W 123-108 | 23 PTS, 12 REB, 7 AST, 44 MIN | 29 PTS, 8 REB, 12 AST, 40 MIN |
| Jun 9, 1987 | LAL at BOS (playoffs) | L 107-106 | 21 PTS, 10 REB, 7 AST, 47 MIN | 29 PTS, 8 REB, 5 AST, 41 MIN |
| Jun 7, 1987 | LAL at BOS (playoffs) | W 109-103 | 30 PTS, 12 REB, 4 AST, 44 MIN | 32 PTS, 11 REB, 9 AST, 43 MIN |
| Jun 4, 1987 | BOS at LAL (playoffs) | L 141-122 | 23 PTS, 10 REB, 4 AST, 36 MIN | 22 PTS, 5 REB, 20 AST, 31 MIN |
| Jun 2, 1987 | BOS at LAL (playoffs) | L 126-113 | 32 PTS, 7 REB, 6 AST, 42 MIN | 29 PTS, 8 REB, 13 AST, 39 MIN |
| Feb 15, 1987 | BOS at LAL | L 106-103 | 20 PTS, 5 REB, 7 AST, 43 MIN | 39 PTS, 7 REB, 10 AST, 45 MIN |
| Dec 12, 1986 | LAL at BOS | L 117-110 | 26 PTS, 3 REB, 6 AST, 43 MIN | 31 PTS, 7 REB, 8 AST, 42 MIN |
| Feb 16, 1986 | BOS at LAL | W 105-99 | 22 PTS, 18 REB, 7 AST, 43 MIN | 6 PTS, 6 REB, 12 AST, 38 MIN |
| Jan 22, 1986 | LAL at BOS | W 110-95 | 21 PTS, 12 REB, 7 AST, 38 MIN | 15 PTS, 1 REB, 6 AST, 27 MIN |
| Jun 9, 1985 | LAL at BOS (playoffs) | L 111-100 | 28 PTS, 10 REB, 3 AST, 47 MIN | 14 PTS, 10 REB, 14 AST, 36 MIN |
| Jun 7, 1985 | BOS at LAL (playoffs) | L 120-111 | 20 PTS, 7 REB, 7 AST, 44 MIN | 26 PTS, 6 REB, 17 AST, 42 MIN |
| Jun 5, 1985 | BOS at LAL (playoffs) | W 107-105 | 26 PTS, 11 REB, 5 AST, 43 MIN | 20 PTS, 11 REB, 12 AST, 43 MIN |
| Jun 2, 1985 | BOS at LAL (playoffs) | L 136-111 | 20 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST, 35 MIN | 17 PTS, 9 REB, 16 AST, 39 MIN |
| May 30, 1985 | LAL at BOS (playoffs) | L 109-102 | 30 PTS, 12 REB, 3 AST, 41 MIN | 14 PTS, 4 REB, 13 AST, 41 MIN |
| May 27, 1985 | LAL at BOS (playoffs) | W 148-114 | 19 PTS, 6 REB, 9 AST, 31 MIN | 19 PTS, 1 REB, 12 AST, 34 MIN |
| Feb 17, 1985 | BOS at LAL | L 117-111 | 33 PTS, 15 REB, 3 AST, 42 MIN | 37 PTS, 3 REB, 13 AST, 42 MIN |
| Jan 16, 1985 | LAL at BOS | W 104-102 | 19 PTS, 11 REB, 7 AST, 41 MIN | 8 PTS, 7 REB, 13 AST, 39 MIN |
| Jun 12, 1984 | LAL at BOS (playoffs) | W 111-102 | 20 PTS, 12 REB, 3 AST, 38 MIN | 16 PTS, 5 REB, 15 AST, 43 MIN |
| Jun 10, 1984 | BOS at LAL (playoffs) | L 119-108 | 28 PTS, 14 REB, 8 AST, 47 MIN | 21 PTS, 6 REB, 10 AST, 41 MIN |
| Jun 8, 1984 | LAL at BOS (playoffs) | W 121-103 | 34 PTS, 17 REB, 2 AST, 42 MIN | 10 PTS, 5 REB, 13 AST, 39 MIN |
| Jun 6, 1984 | BOS at LAL (playoffs) | W 129-125 | 29 PTS, 21 REB, 2 AST, 49 MIN | 20 PTS, 11 REB, 17 AST, 49 MIN |
| Jun 3, 1984 | BOS at LAL (playoffs) | L 137-104 | 30 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 38 MIN | 14 PTS, 11 REB, 21 AST, 39 MIN |
| May 31, 1984 | LAL at BOS (playoffs) | W 124-121 | 27 PTS, 13 REB, 3 AST, 49 MIN | 27 PTS, 10 REB, 9 AST, 46 MIN |
| May 27, 1984 | LAL at BOS (playoffs) | L 115-109 | 24 PTS, 14 REB, 5 AST, 42 MIN | 18 PTS, 6 REB, 10 AST, 38 MIN |
| Feb 24, 1984 | BOS at LAL | L 116-108 | 14 PTS, 11 REB, 5 AST, 39 MIN | 9 PTS, 8 REB, 18 AST, 40 MIN |
| Feb 8, 1984 | LAL at BOS | L 111-109 | 29 PTS, 11 REB, 7 AST, 42 MIN | 20 PTS, 8 REB, 10 AST, 43 MIN |
| Feb 23, 1983 | BOS at LAL | W 113-104 | 32 PTS, 17 REB, 9 AST, 46 MIN | 20 PTS, 13 REB, 10 AST, 46 MIN |
| Jan 30, 1983 | LAL at BOS | W 110-95 | 21 PTS, 13 REB, 8 AST, 43 MIN | 14 PTS, 9 REB, 10 AST, 42 MIN |
| Feb 14, 1982 | BOS at LAL | W 108-103 | 12 PTS, 9 REB, 9 AST, 43 MIN | 19 PTS, 10 REB, 8 AST, 39 MIN |
| Jan 13, 1980 | LAL at BOS | L 100-98 | 14 PTS, 12 REB, 1 AST, 36 MIN | 1 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 21 MIN |
| Dec 28, 1979 | BOS at LAL | L 123-105 | 16 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 40 MIN | 23 PTS, 8 REB, 6 AST, 40 MIN |
Games both played on opposite sides, from the game logs on file; the record is their teams’.
Career totals
Where each stands all time
Among the NBA players with a career line on file, regular season, counting stats only — the same lists the records pages run on.
Titles and awards
Awards come from the league’s published winner lists; a championship counts a season played for the club that won it.
Season by season
Lined up by career year, not by calendar: each row is the players’ nth season.