Magic Johnson vs Michael Jordan

5of 9 lines

4of 9 lines

Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan compared on their NBA careers: Magic Johnson played 13 seasons, 1979-80 to 1995-96, Michael Jordan 15 seasons, 1984-85 to 2002-03. Magic Johnson averaged 19.5 points a game to Michael Jordan's 30.1. Magic Johnson won 5 titles, Michael Jordan won 6 titles.

Who has the better career numbers?

Magic Johnson leads in 5 of the 9 lines, Michael Jordan in 4. Bold marks the better figure; playing time — games, minutes, at-bats, innings — is not scored.

Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan career per game

906	GP	1,072
36.7	MIN	38.3
19.5	PTS	30.1, better
7.2, better	REB	6.2
11.2, better	AST	5.3
1.9	STL	2.3, better
0.4	BLK	0.8, better
52, better	FG%	49.7
30.3	3P%	32.7, better
84.8, better	FT%	83.5
61, better	TS%	56.9

Career totals

Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan career totals

17,707	PTS	32,292, better
6,559	REB	6,672, better
10,141, better	AST	5,633
1,724	STL	2,514, better
374	BLK	893, better
52, better	FG%	49.7
30.3	3P%	32.7, better
84.8, better	FT%	83.5
61, better	TS%	56.9

How do they compare in the playoffs?

Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan postseason

190	GP	179
39.7	MIN	41.8
19.5	PTS	33.4, better
7.7, better	REB	6.4
12.3, better	AST	5.7
1.9	STL	2.1, better
0.3	BLK	0.9, better
50.6, better	FG%	48.7
24.1	3P%	33.2, better
83.8, better	FT%	82.8
59.5, better	TS%	56.8

Where each stands all time

Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan all-time places

90th (17,707)	Points	6th (32,292), better
127th (6,559)	Rebounds	116th (6,672), better
8th (10,141), better	Assists	51st (5,633)
26th (1,724)	Steals	4th (2,514), better
—	Blocks	119th (893), better

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

Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan titles and awards

5	Championships	6, better
3	Finals MVP	6, better
1	All-Rookie First Team	1
1	All-NBA Second Team	1
9	All-NBA First Team	10, better
—	Rookie of the Year	1, better
3	MVP	5, better
—	All-Defensive First Team	9, better
2	All-Star MVP	3, better
—	Defensive Player of the Year	1, better

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.

Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan season by season

1st	1979-80	18.0	7.7, better	7.3, better	1984-85	28.2, better	6.5	5.9
2nd	1980-81	21.6	8.6, better	8.6, better	1985-86	22.7, better	3.6	2.9
3rd	1981-82	18.6	9.6, better	9.5, better	1986-87	37.1, better	5.2	4.6
4th	1982-83	16.8	8.6, better	10.5, better	1987-88	35.0, better	5.5	5.9
5th	1983-84	17.6	7.3	13.1, better	1988-89	32.5, better	8.0, better	8.0
6th	1984-85	18.3	6.2	12.6, better	1989-90	33.6, better	6.9, better	6.3
7th	1985-86	18.8	5.9	12.6, better	1990-91	31.5, better	6.0, better	5.5
8th	1986-87	23.9	6.3	12.2, better	1991-92	30.1, better	6.4, better	6.1
9th	1987-88	19.6	6.2	11.9, better	1992-93	32.6, better	6.7, better	5.5
10th	1988-89	22.5	7.9, better	12.8, better	1994-95	26.9, better	6.9	5.3
11th	1989-90	22.3	6.6	11.5, better	1995-96	30.4, better	6.6	4.3
12th	1990-91	19.4	7.0, better	12.5, better	1996-97	29.6, better	5.9	4.3
13th	1995-96	14.6	5.7	6.9, better	1997-98	28.7, better	5.8, better	3.5
14th	—	—	—	—	2001-02	22.9	5.7	5.2
15th	—	—	—	—	2002-03	20.0	6.1	3.8

What the columns mean: PTS · REB · AST