Head-to-Head: Games Played Between Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas

This is the detail of NBA games in which Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas played against each other, including head-to-head record, stats average, game highs and game-by-game data both in the Regular Season and Playoffs.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Games against each other

They faced each other a total of 28 times in NBA games. Magic Johnson has a 16-12 winning record over Isiah Thomas, but Isiah Thomas won more matchups in the Playoffs for a 6-4 postseason record.

Games Played Against Each Other

Magic Johnson
vs.
Isiah Thomas
NBA Timeline:
1946-47
2023-24
Magic Johnson:
1979-80 to 1995-96
Isiah Thomas:
1981-82 to 1993-94
28 Games played
18 in Regular Season
10 in Playoffs

Summary of Victories

 Games Won in
Regular Season		 in
Playoffs
Magic Johnson
16
12
4
Isiah Thomas
12
6
6

Stats in Games Between Them

Averages
Player
 Points Rebounds Assists
Magic Johnson 20.6 7.3 12.0
Isiah Thomas 21.5 4.0 10.5
Game Highs
Player
 Points Rebounds Assists
Magic Johnson 40 16 19
Isiah Thomas 43 9 20
Games with better stats than the other player...
Player
 Points Rebounds Assists
Magic Johnson 14

games		 23

games		 18

games
Isiah Thomas 13

games 		4

games		 10

games
Both had same stat 1

game		 1

game		 0

games

Head To Head Games Played: One by One

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1981-82 Season
Game
  
Player
 Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
FG
%
3PT
%
FT
%
Jan. 09, 1982
1. Lakers 130   Magic Johnson 40 10 9 1 4 36 18-23 .783 0-0 - 4-5 .800
Pistons 127   Isiah Thomas 28 6 8 4 31 9-18 .500 0-0 - 10-13 .769
Jan. 22, 1982
2. Lakers 123   Magic Johnson 26 16 12 2 38 10-15 .667 0-0 - 6-9 .667
Pistons 111   Isiah Thomas 14 8 11 3 35 7-23 .304 0-1 .000 0-2 .000
1982-83 Season
Game
  
Player
 Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
FG
%
3PT
%
FT
%
Jan. 02, 1983
3. Lakers 127   Magic Johnson 7 7 12 5 0 8 2 38 2-6 .333 0-1 .000 3-3 1.000
Pistons 112   Isiah Thomas 26 0 8 1 0 4 6 40 11-18 .611 0-0 - 4-4 1.000
Mar. 05, 1983
4. Lakers 122   Magic Johnson 21 10 16 4 0 2 42 9-21 .429 0-0 - 3-4 .750
Pistons 108   Isiah Thomas 30 2 7 6 0 4 40 14-26 .538 1-5 .200 1-2 .500
1983-84 Season
Game
  
Player
 Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
FG
%
3PT
%
FT
%
Mar. 04, 1984
5. Lakers 118   Magic Johnson 29 14 7 3 2 7 1 43 9-16 .563 0-0 - 11-14 .786
Pistons 114   Isiah Thomas 20 4 14 2 0 5 5 40 9-20 .450 0-2 .000 2-4 .500
Mar. 23, 1984
6. Lakers 118   Magic Johnson 11 4 10 3 2 2 1 36 5-10 .500 0-1 .000 1-1 1.000
Pistons 121   Isiah Thomas 17 4 13 3 1 6 5 35 7-15 .467 1-1 1.000 2-2 1.000
1984-85 Season
Game
  
Player
 Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
FG
%
3PT
%
FT
%
Jan. 13, 1985
7. Lakers 98   Magic Johnson 22 8 10 0 0 4 1 37 9-18 .500 0-0 - 4-6 .667
Pistons 121   Isiah Thomas 30 2 20 4 1 3 1 35 14-20 .700 1-2 .500 1-2 .500
Mar. 24, 1985
8. Lakers 148   Magic Johnson 25 10 19 1 0 5 3 36 9-13 .692 0-0 - 7-8 .875
Pistons 130   Isiah Thomas 30 6 15 0 0 4 4 42 14-26 .538 0-3 .000 2-2 1.000
1985-86 Season
Game
  
Player
 Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
FG
%
3PT
%
FT
%
Dec. 15, 1985
9. Lakers 132   Magic Johnson 19 7 15 2 0 8 2 29 5-9 .556 0-0 - 9-11 .818
Pistons 119   Isiah Thomas 16 4 11 1 0 3 6 28 2-8 .250 0-0 - 12-12 1.000
Jan. 19, 1986
10. Lakers 115   Magic Johnson 10 6 18 1 0 3 1 40 5-15 .333 0-1 .000 0-0 -
Pistons 118   Isiah Thomas 18 4 10 2 0 6 6 31 7-15 .467 0-1 .000 4-6 .667
1986-87 Season
Game
  
Player
 Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
FG
%
3PT
%
FT
%
Dec. 13, 1986
11. Lakers 114   Magic Johnson 34 9 9 0 2 2 2 39 13-30 .433 0-0 - 8-8 1.000
Pistons 119   Isiah Thomas 23 5 14 3 0 3 4 41 9-22 .409 1-1 1.000 4-7 .571
Mar. 26, 1987
12. Lakers 128   Magic Johnson 21 7 15 3 2 5 3 38 7-11 .636 0-1 .000 7-8 .875
Pistons 111   Isiah Thomas 23 3 8 2 0 6 3 42 8-22 .364 0-0 - 7-11 .636
1987-88 Season
Game
  
Player
 Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
FG
%
3PT
%
FT
%
Jan. 08, 1988
13. Lakers 106   Magic Johnson 21 5 9 1 0 6 2 40 9-17 .529 0-1 .000 3-3 1.000
Pistons 104   Isiah Thomas 12 3 10 4 0 3 3 33 6-15 .400 0-1 .000 0-0 -
Feb. 21, 1988
14. Lakers 117   Magic Johnson 19 7 13 2 0 2 3 40 5-17 .294 0-1 .000 9-10 .900
Pistons 110   Isiah Thomas 42 3 10 1 1 3 4 41 15-27 .556 0-1 .000 12-12 1.000
1988 Playoffs - NBA Finals
Game
  
Player
 Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
FG
%
3PT
%
FT
%
Jun. 07, 1988
15. Lakers 93   Magic Johnson 28 8 10 2 0 1 3 44 8-11 .727 2-2 1.000 10-10 1.000
Pistons 105   Isiah Thomas 19 3 12 4 1 4 2 40 6-16 .375 2-4 .500 5-5 1.000
Jun. 09, 1988
16. Lakers 108   Magic Johnson 23 7 11 2 0 3 3 42 7-12 .583 0-0 - 9-9 1.000
Pistons 96   Isiah Thomas 13 4 7 1 0 2 6 37 5-14 .357 0-4 .000 3-4 .750
Jun. 12, 1988
17. Lakers 99   Magic Johnson 18 6 14 3 0 3 2 40 7-8 .875 0-0 - 4-5 .800
Pistons 86   Isiah Thomas 28 7 9 3 0 4 4 45 10-21 .476 0-2 .000 8-10 .800
Jun. 14, 1988
18. Lakers 86   Magic Johnson 23 4 6 1 0 2 5 34 7-13 .538 0-2 .000 9-11 .818
Pistons 111   Isiah Thomas 10 9 12 0 0 1 3 36 2-7 .286 1-3 .333 5-6 .833
Jun. 16, 1988
19. Lakers 94   Magic Johnson 15 6 17 2 1 4 3 45 4-15 .267 0-0 - 7-11 .636
Pistons 104   Isiah Thomas 15 5 8 2 0 7 2 32 4-13 .308 0-0 - 7-8 .875
Jun. 19, 1988
20. Lakers 103   Magic Johnson 22 4 19 2 0 2 2 45 5-12 .417 0-1 .000 12-13 .923
Pistons 102   Isiah Thomas 43 3 8 6 1 5 4 44 18-32 .563 2-3 .667 5-7 .714
Jun. 21, 1988
21. Lakers 108   Magic Johnson 19 5 14 2 0 4 5 40 6-9 .667 0-1 .000 7-8 .875
Pistons 105   Isiah Thomas 10 0 7 4 0 3 2 28 4-12 .333 0-1 .000 2-2 1.000
1988-89 Season
Game
  
Player
 Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
FG
%
3PT
%
FT
%
Nov. 26, 1988
22. Lakers 99   Magic Johnson 19 9 8 0 0 9 2 32 8-18 .444 0-3 .000 3-3 1.000
Pistons 102   Isiah Thomas 18 4 10 1 1 4 4 39 7-19 .368 0-2 .000 4-5 .800
1989 Playoffs - NBA Finals
Game
  
Player
 Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
FG
%
3PT
%
FT
%
Jun. 06, 1989
23. Lakers 97   Magic Johnson 17 5 14 3 0 5 2 41 6-12 .500 0-2 .000 5-6 .833
Pistons 109   Isiah Thomas 24 0 9 0 0 2 2 32 9-16 .563 1-1 1.000 5-6 .833
Jun. 08, 1989
24. Lakers 105   Magic Johnson 18 6 9 0 0 0 2 29 6-12 .500 1-3 .333 5-5 1.000
Pistons 108   Isiah Thomas 21 4 7 2 1 3 4 34 9-21 .429 0-2 .000 3-4 .750
Jun. 11, 1989
25. Lakers 110   Magic Johnson 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 05 0-2 .000 0-0 - 0-0 -
Pistons 114   Isiah Thomas 26 3 8 2 0 2 3 43 9-20 .450 1-2 .500 7-9 .778
1989-90 Season
Game
  
Player
 Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
FG
%
3PT
%
FT
%
Dec. 01, 1989
26. Lakers 97   Magic Johnson 28 7 10 0 0 1 5 40 10-16 .625 1-4 .250 7-8 .875
OT Pistons 108   Isiah Thomas 10 6 16 1 1 4 4 45 4-18 .222 0-0 - 2-2 1.000
Jan. 21, 1990
27. Lakers 107   Magic Johnson 21 5 16 1 0 4 4 45 6-14 .429 1-3 .333 8-8 1.000
Pistons 97   Isiah Thomas 20 6 10 1 1 3 3 43 7-22 .318 0-2 .000 6-9 .667
1990-91 Season
Game
  
Player
 Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
FG
%
3PT
%
FT
%
Dec. 04, 1990
28. Lakers 114   Magic Johnson 21 12 14 0 0 4 2 36 9-17 .529 0-2 .000 3-3 1.000
Pistons 90   Isiah Thomas 17 3 11 2 1 3 2 29 7-16 .438 0-1 .000 3-7 .429
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