Magic Johnson vs Wilt Chamberlain

7of 9 lines

2of 9 lines

Magic Johnson and Wilt Chamberlain compared on their NBA careers: Magic Johnson played 13 seasons, 1979-80 to 1995-96, Wilt Chamberlain 5 seasons, 1968-69 to 1972-73. Magic Johnson averaged 19.5 points a game to Wilt Chamberlain's 30.1. Magic Johnson won 5 titles, Wilt Chamberlain won 1 title.

Who has the better career numbers?

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

Magic Johnson and Wilt Chamberlain career per game

906	GP	1,045
36.7	MIN	45.8
19.5	PTS	30.1, better
7.2, better	REB	0
11.2, better	AST	4.4
1.9, better	STL	0
0.4, better	BLK	0
52	FG%	54, better
30.3, better	3P%	0
84.8, better	FT%	51.1
61, better	TS%	54.7

Career totals

Magic Johnson and Wilt Chamberlain career totals

17,707	PTS	31,419, better
6,559, better	REB	0
10,141, better	AST	4,643
1,724, better	STL	0
374, better	BLK	0
52	FG%	54, better
30.3, better	3P%	0
84.8, better	FT%	51.1
61, better	TS%	54.7

How do they compare in the playoffs?

Magic Johnson and Wilt Chamberlain postseason

190	GP	160
39.7	MIN	47.2
19.5	PTS	22.5, better
7.7, better	REB	0
12.3, better	AST	4.2
1.9, better	STL	0
0.3, better	BLK	0
50.6	FG%	52.2, better
24.1, better	3P%	0
83.8, better	FT%	46.5
59.5, better	TS%	52.4

Where each stands all time

Magic Johnson and Wilt Chamberlain all-time places

90th (17,707)	Points	8th (31,419), better
127th (6,559), better	Rebounds	—
8th (10,141), better	Assists	82nd (4,643)
26th (1,724), better	Steals	—

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 Wilt Chamberlain titles and awards

5, better	Championships	1
2, better	All-Star MVP	1
—	Rookie of the Year	1, better
9, better	All-NBA First Team	7
3	MVP	4, better
1	All-NBA Second Team	3, better
3, better	Finals MVP	1
—	All-Defensive First Team	2, better
1, better	All-Rookie First Team	—

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 Wilt Chamberlain season by season

1st	1979-80	18.0	7.7, better	7.3, better	1968-69	20.5, better	0	4.5
2nd	1980-81	21.6	8.6, better	8.6, better	1969-70	27.3, better	0	4.1
3rd	1981-82	18.6	9.6, better	9.5, better	1970-71	20.7, better	0	4.3
4th	1982-83	16.8, better	8.6, better	10.5, better	1971-72	14.8	0	4.0
5th	1983-84	17.6, better	7.3, better	13.1, better	1972-73	13.2	0	4.5
6th	1984-85	18.3	6.2	12.6	—	—	—	—
7th	1985-86	18.8	5.9	12.6	—	—	—	—
8th	1986-87	23.9	6.3	12.2	—	—	—	—
9th	1987-88	19.6	6.2	11.9	—	—	—	—
10th	1988-89	22.5	7.9	12.8	—	—	—	—
11th	1989-90	22.3	6.6	11.5	—	—	—	—
12th	1990-91	19.4	7.0	12.5	—	—	—	—
13th	1995-96	14.6	5.7	6.9	—	—	—	—

What the columns mean: PTS · REB · AST