Magic Johnson vs Tim Duncan

7of 9 lines

2of 9 lines

Magic Johnson and Tim Duncan compared on their NBA careers: Magic Johnson played 13 seasons, 1979-80 to 1995-96, Tim Duncan 19 seasons, 1997-98 to 2015-16. Magic Johnson averaged 19.5 points a game to Tim Duncan's 19. Magic Johnson won 5 titles, Tim Duncan won 5 titles.

Who has the better career numbers?

Magic Johnson leads in 7 of the 9 lines, Tim Duncan in 2. Bold marks the better figure; playing time — games, minutes, at-bats, innings — is not scored.

Magic Johnson and Tim Duncan career per game

906	GP	1,392
36.7	MIN	34
19.5, better	PTS	19
7.2	REB	10.8, better
11.2, better	AST	3
1.9, better	STL	0.7
0.4	BLK	2.2, better
52, better	FG%	50.6
30.3, better	3P%	17.9
84.8, better	FT%	69.6
61, better	TS%	55.1

Career totals

Magic Johnson and Tim Duncan career totals

17,707	PTS	26,496, better
6,559	REB	15,091, better
10,141, better	AST	4,225
1,724, better	STL	1,025
374	BLK	3,020, better
52, better	FG%	50.6
30.3, better	3P%	17.9
84.8, better	FT%	69.6
61, better	TS%	55.1

How do they compare in the playoffs?

Magic Johnson and Tim Duncan postseason

190	GP	251
39.7	MIN	37.3
19.5	PTS	20.6, better
7.7	REB	11.4, better
12.3, better	AST	3
1.9, better	STL	0.7
0.3	BLK	2.3, better
50.6, better	FG%	50.1
24.1, better	3P%	14.3
83.8, better	FT%	68.9
59.5, better	TS%	54.8

Where each stands all time

Magic Johnson and Tim Duncan all-time places

90th (17,707)	Points	22nd (26,496), better
127th (6,559)	Rebounds	2nd (15,091), better
8th (10,141), better	Assists	109th (4,225)
26th (1,724), better	Steals	157th (1,025)
—	Blocks	5th (3,020), 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 Tim Duncan titles and awards

5	Championships	5
3	Finals MVP	3
1	All-Rookie First Team	1
1	All-NBA Second Team	3, better
9	All-NBA First Team	10, better
3, better	MVP	2
2, better	All-Star MVP	1
—	All-Defensive Second Team	7, better
—	Rookie of the Year	1, better
—	All-Defensive First Team	8, better
—	All-NBA Third Team	2, 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 Tim Duncan season by season

1st	1979-80	18.0	7.7	7.3, better	1997-98	21.1, better	11.9, better	2.7
2nd	1980-81	21.6	8.6	8.6, better	1998-99	21.7, better	11.4, better	2.4
3rd	1981-82	18.6	9.6	9.5, better	1999-00	23.2, better	12.4, better	3.2
4th	1982-83	16.8	8.6	10.5, better	2000-01	22.2, better	12.2, better	3.0
5th	1983-84	17.6	7.3	13.1, better	2001-02	25.5, better	12.7, better	3.7
6th	1984-85	18.3	6.2	12.6, better	2002-03	23.3, better	12.9, better	3.9
7th	1985-86	18.8	5.9	12.6, better	2003-04	22.3, better	12.4, better	3.1
8th	1986-87	23.9, better	6.3	12.2, better	2004-05	20.3	11.1, better	2.7
9th	1987-88	19.6, better	6.2	11.9, better	2005-06	18.6	11.0, better	3.2
10th	1988-89	22.5, better	7.9	12.8, better	2006-07	20.0	10.6, better	3.4
11th	1989-90	22.3, better	6.6	11.5, better	2007-08	19.3	11.3, better	2.8
12th	1990-91	19.4, better	7.0	12.5, better	2008-09	19.3	10.7, better	3.5
13th	1995-96	14.6	5.7	6.9, better	2009-10	17.9, better	10.1, better	3.2
14th	—	—	—	—	2010-11	13.4	8.9	2.7
15th	—	—	—	—	2011-12	15.4	9.0	2.3
16th	—	—	—	—	2012-13	17.8	9.9	2.7
17th	—	—	—	—	2013-14	15.1	9.7	3.0
18th	—	—	—	—	2014-15	13.9	9.1	3.0
19th	—	—	—	—	2015-16	8.6	7.3	2.7

What the columns mean: PTS · REB · AST