Magic Johnson vs. Ben Wallace Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ben Wallace 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 Ben Wallace, who played 16. Magic Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Ben Wallace had his rookie season in 1996-97. 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
Ben Wallace	16	8	1996-97 to 2011-12

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	Ben Wallace
Season	1979-80	1996-97
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington Bullets
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
Ben Wallace	34	5.8	1.1	0.7	1.0	1.7	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.5	0.8	0.5	1.4	.348	0.0	0.0	-	0.2	0.6	.300

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
Ben Wallace	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Magic Johnson	Ben Wallace
Season	1980-81	1997-98
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington Wizards
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
Ben Wallace	67	16.8	3.1	1.7	3.2	4.8	0.3	0.9	1.1	0.4	1.7	1.3	2.4	.518	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	1.5	.357

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
Ben Wallace	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Magic Johnson	Ben Wallace
Season	1981-82	1998-99
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Steals Leader	-
	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	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
Ben Wallace	46	26.8	6.0	3.0	5.4	8.3	0.4	1.1	2.0	0.8	2.4	2.5	4.3	.578	0.0	0.0	-	1.0	2.9	.356

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
Ben Wallace	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Magic Johnson	Ben Wallace
Season	1982-83	1999-00
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA 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	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
Ben Wallace	81	24.2	4.8	2.6	5.6	8.2	0.8	0.9	1.6	0.8	2.0	2.1	4.1	.503	0.0	0.0	-	0.7	1.4	.474

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
Ben Wallace	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Magic Johnson	Ben Wallace
Season	1983-84	2000-01
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA 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	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
Ben Wallace	80	34.5	6.4	3.8	9.4	13.2	1.5	1.3	2.3	1.5	2.4	2.7	5.5	.490	0.0	0.1	.250	1.0	3.0	.336

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
Ben Wallace	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Magic Johnson	Ben Wallace
Season	1984-85	2001-02
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	Blocks Leader
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pistons Lost East Conf Semis

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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
Ben Wallace	80	36.5	7.6	4.0	9.0	13.0	1.4	1.7	3.5	0.9	2.2	3.2	6.0	.531	0.0	0.0	.000	1.2	2.9	.423

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
Ben Wallace	10	40.8	7.3	4.8	11.3	16.1	1.2	1.9	2.6	1.9	2.4	2.8	5.9	.475	0.0	0.0	-	1.7	3.9	.436


Season 7
	Magic Johnson	Ben Wallace
Season	1985-86	2002-03
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	Rebounds Leader
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals

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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
Ben Wallace	73	39.4	6.9	4.0	11.4	15.4	1.6	1.4	3.2	1.2	2.5	2.9	6.0	.481	0.0	0.1	.167	1.2	2.6	.450

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
Ben Wallace	17	42.5	8.9	5.1	11.2	16.3	1.6	2.5	3.1	0.9	2.9	3.1	6.4	.486	0.0	0.1	.000	2.6	5.9	.446


Season 8
	Magic Johnson	Ben Wallace
Season	1986-87	2003-04
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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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	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
Ben Wallace	81	37.7	9.5	4.0	8.4	12.4	1.7	1.8	3.0	1.5	2.0	3.9	9.2	.421	0.0	0.1	.125	1.8	3.6	.490

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
Ben Wallace	23	40.3	10.3	4.1	10.1	14.3	1.9	1.9	2.4	1.6	2.5	4.0	8.9	.454	0.0	0.1	.000	2.2	5.1	.427


Season 9
	Magic Johnson	Ben Wallace
Season	1987-88	2004-05
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pistons 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	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
Ben Wallace	74	36.1	9.7	3.9	8.2	12.2	1.7	1.4	2.4	1.1	2.1	4.0	8.8	.453	0.0	0.1	.111	1.8	4.1	.428

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
Ben Wallace	25	39.0	10.0	3.8	7.5	11.3	1.0	1.7	2.4	1.2	2.6	4.1	8.5	.481	0.0	0.2	.000	1.9	4.1	.461


Season 10
	Magic Johnson	Ben Wallace
Season	1988-89	2005-06
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals

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
Ben Wallace	82	35.2	7.3	3.7	7.6	11.3	1.9	1.8	2.2	1.1	2.0	2.9	5.7	.510	0.0	0.0	.000	1.5	3.6	.416

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
Ben Wallace	18	35.7	4.7	3.3	7.2	10.5	1.7	1.3	1.2	0.8	2.3	1.8	3.9	.465	0.0	0.1	.000	1.0	3.7	.273


Season 11
	Magic Johnson	Ben Wallace
Season	1989-90	2006-07
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis

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
Ben Wallace	77	35.0	6.4	3.9	6.7	10.7	2.4	1.4	2.0	1.3	2.0	2.5	5.5	.453	0.0	0.1	.200	1.4	3.5	.408

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
Ben Wallace	10	36.9	8.7	2.9	6.6	9.5	1.4	1.5	1.7	1.0	1.9	3.0	5.3	.566	0.0	0.1	.000	2.7	5.4	.500


Season 12
	Magic Johnson	Ben Wallace
Season	1990-91	2007-08
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis

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
Ben Wallace	72	30.6	4.8	3.3	5.1	8.4	1.5	1.2	1.6	0.9	1.7	1.9	4.9	.392	0.0	0.1	.000	1.0	2.3	.426

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
Ben Wallace	13	23.4	3.2	2.5	4.0	6.5	1.2	0.6	1.1	0.5	2.0	1.3	2.5	.515	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	1.5	.350

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


Season 13
	Magic Johnson	Ben Wallace
Season	1995-96	2008-09
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Finals

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
Ben Wallace	56	23.5	2.9	2.4	4.0	6.5	0.8	0.9	1.3	0.6	1.5	1.2	2.8	.445	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	1.1	.422

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
Ben Wallace	14	12.6	1.1	1.3	1.4	2.7	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.9	0.6	0.9	.615	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.4	.000


Season 14
	Magic Johnson	Ben Wallace
Season	-	2009-10
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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ben Wallace	69	28.6	5.5	3.6	5.1	8.7	1.5	1.2	1.2	0.9	1.9	2.3	4.2	.541	0.0	0.0	.000	0.9	2.3	.406

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


Season 15
	Magic Johnson	Ben Wallace
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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ben Wallace	54	22.9	2.9	2.4	4.1	6.5	1.3	1.0	1.0	0.8	1.5	1.2	2.8	.450	0.0	0.0	.500	0.4	1.1	.333

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


Season 16
	Magic Johnson	Ben Wallace
Season	-	2011-12
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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ben Wallace	62	15.8	1.4	1.3	3.0	4.3	0.7	0.8	0.8	0.5	1.0	0.5	1.4	.395	0.0	0.1	.250	0.3	0.8	.340

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

Magic Johnson vs. Ben Wallace Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ben Wallace 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