Magic Johnson vs. Derrick Rose Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Derrick Rose 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, 2 less than Derrick Rose, who played 15. Magic Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Derrick Rose had his rookie season in 2008-09. 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
Derrick Rose	15	8	2008-09 to 2023-24

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


Rookie Season
	Magic Johnson	Derrick Rose
Season	1979-80	2008-09
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	-	Rookie of the Year
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bulls 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	36.3	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
Derrick Rose	81	37.0	16.8	1.2	2.7	3.9	6.3	0.8	0.2	2.5	1.5	7.1	14.9	.475	0.2	0.9	.222	2.4	3.1	.788

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
Derrick Rose	7	44.7	19.7	1.7	4.6	6.3	6.4	0.6	0.7	5.0	3.6	8.4	17.1	.492	0.0	0.6	.000	2.9	3.6	.800


Season 2
	Magic Johnson	Derrick Rose
Season	1980-81	2009-10
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	Steals Leader	-
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Bulls 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	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
Derrick Rose	78	36.8	20.8	0.8	2.9	3.8	6.0	0.7	0.3	2.8	1.2	8.6	17.6	.489	0.2	0.8	.267	3.3	4.3	.766

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
Derrick Rose	5	42.4	26.8	0.8	2.6	3.4	7.2	0.8	0.0	2.6	1.6	11.4	25.0	.456	0.4	1.2	.333	3.6	4.4	.818


Season 3
	Magic Johnson	Derrick Rose
Season	1981-82	2010-11
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bulls 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	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
Derrick Rose	81	37.4	25.0	1.0	3.1	4.1	7.7	1.0	0.6	3.4	1.7	8.8	19.7	.445	1.6	4.8	.332	5.9	6.9	.858

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
Derrick Rose	16	40.6	27.1	1.3	3.1	4.3	7.7	1.4	0.7	3.7	2.1	9.3	23.5	.396	1.6	6.3	.248	6.9	8.4	.828


Season 4
	Magic Johnson	Derrick Rose
Season	1982-83	2011-12
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Bulls 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
Derrick Rose	39	35.3	21.8	0.7	2.7	3.4	7.9	0.9	0.7	3.1	1.3	7.7	17.8	.435	1.4	4.4	.312	5.0	6.1	.812

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
Derrick Rose	1	37.0	23.0	3.0	6.0	9.0	9.0	1.0	1.0	5.0	1.0	9.0	23.0	.391	3.0	6.0	.500	2.0	2.0	1.000

Note: Derrick Rose didn't play in 2012-13.


Season 5
	Magic Johnson	Derrick Rose
Season	1983-84	2013-14
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
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
Derrick Rose	10	31.1	15.9	0.9	2.3	3.2	4.3	0.5	0.1	3.4	1.5	5.8	16.4	.354	1.6	4.7	.340	2.7	3.2	.844

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
Derrick Rose	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Magic Johnson	Derrick Rose
Season	1984-85	2014-15
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bulls 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
Derrick Rose	51	30.0	17.7	0.7	2.5	3.2	4.9	0.7	0.3	3.2	1.2	6.6	16.4	.405	1.5	5.3	.280	3.0	3.7	.813

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
Derrick Rose	12	37.8	20.3	1.1	3.8	4.8	6.5	1.2	0.5	3.2	1.8	7.8	19.6	.396	1.9	5.5	.348	2.9	3.3	.897


Season 7
	Magic Johnson	Derrick Rose
Season	1985-86	2015-16
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	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
Derrick Rose	66	31.8	16.4	0.7	2.7	3.4	4.7	0.7	0.2	2.7	1.3	6.8	15.9	.427	0.7	2.3	.293	2.2	2.7	.793

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
Derrick Rose	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Magic Johnson	Derrick Rose
Season	1986-87	2016-17
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	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	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
Derrick Rose	64	32.5	18.0	1.0	2.8	3.8	4.4	0.7	0.3	2.3	1.3	7.2	15.3	.471	0.2	0.9	.217	3.5	4.0	.874

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
Derrick Rose	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Magic Johnson	Derrick Rose
Season	1987-88	2017-18
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Timberwolves 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	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
Derrick Rose	25	16.8	8.4	0.5	0.9	1.4	1.5	0.3	0.2	1.4	0.6	3.2	7.4	.435	0.3	1.2	.233	1.6	1.8	.870

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
Derrick Rose	5	23.8	14.2	0.2	1.6	1.8	2.6	0.4	0.0	1.6	1.8	5.8	11.4	.509	1.4	2.0	.700	1.2	1.4	.857


Season 10
	Magic Johnson	Derrick Rose
Season	1988-89	2018-19
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	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	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
Derrick Rose	51	27.3	18.0	0.6	2.1	2.7	4.3	0.6	0.2	1.6	1.1	7.1	14.8	.482	1.1	2.9	.370	2.7	3.1	.856

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
Derrick Rose	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Magic Johnson	Derrick Rose
Season	1989-90	2019-20
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	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	37.2	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
Derrick Rose	50	26.0	18.1	0.5	1.9	2.4	5.6	0.8	0.3	2.5	1.0	7.4	15.1	.490	0.9	2.9	.306	2.4	2.8	.871

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
Derrick Rose	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Magic Johnson	Derrick Rose
Season	1990-91	2020-21
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Knicks 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	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
Derrick Rose	50	25.6	14.7	0.4	2.2	2.6	4.2	1.0	0.4	1.6	1.1	5.7	12.2	.470	1.0	2.6	.388	2.2	2.5	.866

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
Derrick Rose	5	35.0	19.4	0.8	3.2	4.0	5.0	0.4	0.2	1.6	1.0	8.0	16.8	.476	1.6	3.4	.471	1.8	1.8	1.000

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


Season 13
	Magic Johnson	Derrick Rose
Season	1995-96	2021-22
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	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
Derrick Rose	26	24.5	12.0	0.8	2.2	3.0	4.0	0.8	0.5	1.5	0.6	4.7	10.5	.445	1.4	3.5	.402	1.2	1.2	.968

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
Derrick Rose	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 14
	Magic Johnson	Derrick Rose
Season	-	2022-23
Team	-	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Knicks 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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Derrick Rose	27	12.5	5.6	0.3	1.2	1.5	1.7	0.3	0.2	0.8	0.7	2.3	5.9	.384	0.7	2.3	.302	0.4	0.4	.917

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Derrick Rose	1	3.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	4.0	.000	0.0	1.0	.000	0.0	0.0	-


Season 15
	Magic Johnson	Derrick Rose
Season	-	2023-24
Team	-	Memphis Grizzlies
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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Derrick Rose	24	16.6	8.0	0.3	1.6	1.9	3.3	0.3	0.1	1.3	0.9	3.2	6.9	.461	0.6	1.7	.366	1.0	1.1	.889

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

Magic Johnson vs. Derrick Rose Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Derrick Rose 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