Magic Johnson vs. Tracy McGrady Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Tracy McGrady and Magic Johnson, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Magic Johnson played 13 years in the NBA, 3 less than Tracy McGrady, who played 16. Magic Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Tracy McGrady had his rookie season in 1997-98. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achivements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Magic Johnson	13	13	1979-80 to 1995-96
Tracy McGrady	16	9	1997-98 to 2012-13

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16


Rookie Season
	Magic Johnson	Tracy McGrady
Season	1979-80	1997-98
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	77	36.3	18.0	2.2	5.6	7.7	7.3	2.4	0.5	4.0	2.8	6.5	12.3	.530	0.1	0.4	.226	4.9	6.0	.810
Tracy McGrady	64	18.4	7.0	1.6	2.6	4.2	1.5	0.8	1.0	1.0	1.3	2.8	6.2	.450	0.2	0.6	.341	1.2	1.7	.712

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	16	41.1	18.3	3.3	7.3	10.5	9.4	3.1	0.4	4.1	2.9	6.4	12.4	.518	0.1	0.5	.250	5.3	6.6	.802
Tracy McGrady	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Magic Johnson	Tracy McGrady
Season	1980-81	1998-99
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	Steals Leader	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	37	37.1	21.6	2.7	5.9	8.6	8.6	3.4	0.7	3.9	2.7	8.4	15.9	.532	0.1	0.5	.176	4.6	6.1	.760
Tracy McGrady	49	22.6	9.3	2.4	3.2	5.7	2.3	1.1	1.3	1.6	1.9	3.4	7.9	.436	0.2	0.7	.229	2.3	3.2	.726

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	3	42.3	17.0	2.7	11.0	13.7	7.0	2.7	1.0	3.7	4.7	6.3	16.3	.388	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	6.7	.650
Tracy McGrady	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Magic Johnson	Tracy McGrady
Season	1981-82	1999-00
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Raptors Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	78	38.3	18.6	3.2	6.4	9.6	9.5	2.7	0.4	3.7	2.9	7.1	13.3	.537	0.1	0.4	.207	4.2	5.6	.760
Tracy McGrady	79	31.2	15.4	2.4	4.0	6.3	3.3	1.1	1.9	2.0	2.5	5.8	12.9	.451	0.2	0.8	.277	3.5	5.0	.707

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	14	40.1	17.4	3.9	7.4	11.3	9.3	2.9	0.2	3.1	3.6	5.9	11.2	.529	0.0	0.3	.000	5.5	6.6	.828
Tracy McGrady	3	37.0	16.7	3.3	3.7	7.0	3.0	1.0	1.0	3.3	3.3	5.7	14.7	.386	0.7	2.3	.286	4.7	5.3	.875


Season 4
	Magic Johnson	Tracy McGrady
Season	1982-83	2000-01
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Most Improved Player
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Magic Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	79	36.8	16.8	2.7	5.9	8.6	10.5	2.2	0.6	3.8	2.5	6.5	11.8	.548	0.0	0.3	.000	3.8	4.8	.800
Tracy McGrady	77	40.1	26.8	2.5	5.0	7.5	4.6	1.5	1.5	2.6	2.1	10.2	22.4	.457	0.8	2.2	.355	5.6	7.6	.733

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	15	42.9	17.9	3.4	5.1	8.5	12.8	2.3	0.8	4.3	3.3	6.7	13.7	.485	0.0	0.7	.000	4.5	5.4	.840
Tracy McGrady	4	44.3	33.8	1.5	5.0	6.5	8.3	1.8	1.3	2.0	2.8	12.8	30.8	.415	0.5	2.5	.200	7.8	9.5	.816


Season 5
	Magic Johnson	Tracy McGrady
Season	1983-84	2001-02
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Magic Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	67	38.3	17.6	1.5	5.9	7.3	13.1	2.2	0.7	4.6	2.5	6.6	11.6	.565	0.1	0.4	.207	4.3	5.3	.810
Tracy McGrady	76	38.3	25.6	2.0	5.9	7.9	5.3	1.6	1.0	2.5	1.8	9.4	20.9	.451	1.4	3.7	.364	5.5	7.3	.748

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	21	39.9	18.2	1.2	5.4	6.6	13.5	2.0	1.0	3.8	3.4	7.2	13.0	.551	0.0	0.3	.000	3.8	4.8	.800
Tracy McGrady	4	44.5	30.8	1.5	4.8	6.3	5.5	0.5	1.8	3.3	2.8	10.5	22.8	.462	1.3	4.0	.313	8.5	11.5	.739


Season 6
	Magic Johnson	Tracy McGrady
Season	1984-85	2002-03
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Magic Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	77	36.1	18.3	1.2	5.0	6.2	12.6	1.5	0.3	4.0	2.0	6.5	11.7	.561	0.1	0.5	.189	5.1	6.0	.843
Tracy McGrady	75	39.4	32.1	1.6	4.9	6.5	5.5	1.7	0.8	2.6	2.1	11.1	24.2	.457	2.3	6.0	.386	7.7	9.7	.793

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	19	36.2	17.5	1.0	6.1	7.1	15.2	1.7	0.2	4.0	2.5	6.1	11.9	.513	0.1	0.4	.143	5.3	6.2	.847
Tracy McGrady	7	44.1	31.7	1.4	5.3	6.7	4.7	2.0	0.9	3.7	2.3	10.6	23.6	.448	2.3	6.7	.340	8.3	10.7	.773


Season 7
	Magic Johnson	Tracy McGrady
Season	1985-86	2003-04
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	72	35.8	18.8	1.2	4.7	5.9	12.6	1.6	0.2	3.8	1.8	6.7	12.8	.526	0.1	0.6	.233	5.3	6.0	.871
Tracy McGrady	67	39.9	28.0	1.4	4.6	6.0	5.5	1.4	0.6	2.7	1.9	9.7	23.4	.417	2.6	7.7	.339	5.9	7.5	.796

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	14	38.6	21.6	1.5	5.6	7.1	15.1	1.9	0.1	3.2	3.1	7.9	14.6	.537	0.0	0.8	.000	5.9	7.6	.766
Tracy McGrady	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Magic Johnson	Tracy McGrady
Season	1986-87	2004-05
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	80	36.3	23.9	1.5	4.8	6.3	12.2	1.7	0.5	3.8	2.1	8.5	16.4	.522	0.1	0.5	.205	6.7	7.9	.848
Tracy McGrady	78	40.8	25.7	0.9	5.3	6.2	5.7	1.7	0.7	2.6	2.1	9.2	21.3	.431	1.8	5.6	.326	5.5	7.1	.774

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	18	37.0	21.8	1.6	6.2	7.7	12.2	1.7	0.4	2.8	2.1	8.1	15.1	.539	0.1	0.6	.200	5.4	6.6	.831
Tracy McGrady	7	43.1	30.7	1.7	5.7	7.4	6.7	1.6	1.4	3.7	2.9	11.1	24.4	.456	2.4	6.6	.370	6.0	7.3	.824


Season 9
	Magic Johnson	Tracy McGrady
Season	1987-88	2005-06
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	72	36.6	19.6	1.2	5.0	6.2	11.9	1.6	0.2	3.7	2.0	6.8	13.8	.492	0.2	0.8	.196	5.8	6.8	.853
Tracy McGrady	47	37.1	24.4	1.0	5.6	6.5	4.8	1.3	0.9	2.6	1.9	8.7	21.5	.406	1.6	5.0	.312	5.4	7.2	.747

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	24	40.2	19.9	1.3	4.1	5.4	12.6	1.4	0.2	3.5	2.5	7.0	13.7	.514	0.3	0.6	.500	5.5	6.5	.852
Tracy McGrady	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Magic Johnson	Tracy McGrady
Season	1988-89	2006-07
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	77	37.5	22.5	1.4	6.4	7.9	12.8	1.8	0.3	4.1	2.2	7.5	14.8	.509	0.8	2.4	.314	6.7	7.3	.911
Tracy McGrady	71	35.8	24.6	0.8	4.5	5.3	6.5	1.3	0.5	3.0	1.9	9.0	20.8	.431	1.8	5.4	.331	4.9	6.9	.707

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	14	37.0	18.4	1.1	4.9	5.9	11.8	1.9	0.2	3.8	2.1	6.1	12.4	.489	0.7	2.5	.286	5.6	6.1	.907
Tracy McGrady	7	40.0	25.3	0.7	5.1	5.9	7.3	0.7	0.9	3.0	1.7	9.0	22.9	.394	1.3	5.1	.250	6.0	8.1	.737


Season 11
	Magic Johnson	Tracy McGrady
Season	1989-90	2007-08
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	79	37.2	22.3	1.6	5.0	6.6	11.5	1.7	0.4	3.7	2.1	6.9	14.4	.480	1.3	3.5	.384	7.2	8.1	.890
Tracy McGrady	66	37.0	21.6	0.6	4.5	5.1	5.9	1.0	0.5	2.4	1.4	8.3	19.8	.419	1.3	4.5	.292	3.7	5.4	.684

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	9	41.8	25.2	1.3	5.0	6.3	12.8	1.2	0.1	4.0	3.1	8.4	17.2	.490	0.6	2.8	.200	7.8	8.8	.886
Tracy McGrady	6	41.2	27.0	1.2	7.0	8.2	6.8	1.5	0.8	3.0	1.3	10.3	24.3	.425	0.8	4.0	.208	5.5	8.8	.623


Season 12
	Magic Johnson	Tracy McGrady
Season	1990-91	2008-09
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	79	37.1	19.4	1.3	5.6	7.0	12.5	1.3	0.2	4.0	1.9	5.9	12.4	.477	1.0	3.2	.320	6.6	7.3	.906
Tracy McGrady	35	33.7	15.6	0.6	3.8	4.4	5.0	1.2	0.4	2.0	1.1	5.4	13.9	.388	1.3	3.3	.376	3.6	4.5	.801

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	19	43.3	21.8	1.2	6.9	8.1	12.6	1.2	0.0	4.1	2.3	6.2	14.1	.440	1.1	3.7	.296	8.3	9.4	.882
Tracy McGrady	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Magic Johnson didn't play in 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94 and 1994-95.


Season 13
	Magic Johnson	Tracy McGrady
Season	1995-96	2009-10
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets, New York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	32	29.9	14.6	1.3	4.5	5.7	6.9	0.8	0.4	3.2	1.5	4.3	9.2	.466	0.7	1.8	.379	5.4	6.3	.856
Tracy McGrady	30	22.4	8.2	0.7	2.4	3.1	3.3	0.5	0.5	1.5	1.3	3.0	7.8	.387	0.5	2.1	.250	1.6	2.1	.746

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	4	33.8	15.3	2.0	6.5	8.5	6.5	0.0	0.0	3.0	0.8	3.8	9.8	.385	0.8	2.3	.333	7.0	8.3	.848
Tracy McGrady	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 14
	Magic Johnson	Tracy McGrady
Season	-	2010-11
Team	-	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tracy McGrady	72	23.4	8.0	0.7	2.8	3.5	3.5	0.9	0.5	1.4	1.4	3.2	7.1	.442	0.4	1.2	.341	1.3	1.8	.698

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tracy McGrady	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 15
	Magic Johnson	Tracy McGrady
Season	-	2011-12
Team	-	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Hawks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tracy McGrady	52	16.1	5.3	0.4	2.5	3.0	2.1	0.3	0.3	1.0	0.7	1.9	4.4	.437	0.3	0.6	.455	1.1	1.6	.675

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tracy McGrady	6	15.0	4.2	1.0	1.8	2.8	1.0	0.0	0.3	1.7	0.7	1.7	4.3	.385	0.0	0.7	.000	0.8	1.0	.833


Season 16
	Magic Johnson	Tracy McGrady
Season	-	2012-13
Team	-	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Spurs Lost NBA Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tracy McGrady	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tracy McGrady	6	5.2	0.0	0.2	1.2	1.3	1.2	0.3	0.5	0.3	0.2	0.0	1.2	.000	0.0	0.5	.000	0.0	0.0	-

Magic Johnson vs. Tracy McGrady Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Tracy McGrady and Magic Johnson, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13

Season 14

Season 15

Season 16