Magic Johnson vs. Pete Maravich Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Pete Maravich 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.

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 more than Pete Maravich, who played 10. Magic Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Pete Maravich had his rookie season in 1970-71. 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.

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13
Rookie Season
	Magic Johnson	Pete Maravich
Season	1979-80	1970-71
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks 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	36.3	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
Pete Maravich	81	36.1	23.2	-	-	3.7	4.4	-	-	-	2.9	9.1	19.9	.458	-	-	-	5.0	6.2	.800
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
Pete Maravich	5	39.8	22.0	-	-	5.2	4.8	-	-	-	2.8	9.2	24.4	.377	-	-	-	3.6	5.2	.692

Season 2
	Magic Johnson	Pete Maravich
Season	1980-81	1971-72
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	Steals Leader	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Hawks 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	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
Pete Maravich	66	34.9	19.3	-	-	3.9	6.0	-	-	-	3.1	7.0	16.3	.427	-	-	-	5.4	6.6	.811
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
Pete Maravich	6	36.5	27.7	-	-	5.3	4.7	-	-	-	4.0	9.0	20.2	.446	-	-	-	9.7	11.8	.817

Season 3
	Magic Johnson	Pete Maravich
Season	1981-82	1972-73
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks 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	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
Pete Maravich	79	39.1	26.1	-	-	4.4	6.9	-	-	-	3.1	10.0	22.6	.441	-	-	-	6.1	7.7	.800
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
Pete Maravich	6	39.0	26.2	-	-	4.8	6.7	-	-	-	4.0	10.8	25.8	.419	-	-	-	4.5	5.7	.794

Season 4
	Magic Johnson	Pete Maravich
Season	1982-83	1973-74
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	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
Pete Maravich	76	38.2	27.7	1.3	3.6	4.9	5.2	1.5	0.2	-	3.4	10.8	23.6	.457	-	-	-	6.2	7.5	.826
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
Pete Maravich	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 5
	Magic Johnson	Pete Maravich
Season	1983-84	1974-75
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New Orleans Jazz
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
Pete Maravich	79	36.1	21.5	1.2	4.2	5.3	6.2	1.5	0.2	-	2.9	8.3	19.8	.419	-	-	-	4.9	6.1	.811
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
Pete Maravich	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Magic Johnson	Pete Maravich
Season	1984-85	1975-76
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New Orleans Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA 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	36.1	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
Pete Maravich	62	38.3	25.9	0.7	4.1	4.8	5.4	1.4	0.4	-	3.2	9.7	21.2	.459	-	-	-	6.4	7.9	.811
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
Pete Maravich	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Magic Johnson	Pete Maravich
Season	1985-86	1976-77
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New Orleans Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First 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
Pete Maravich	73	41.7	31.1	1.2	3.9	5.1	5.4	1.2	0.3	-	2.6	12.1	28.0	.433	-	-	-	6.9	8.2	.835
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
Pete Maravich	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Magic Johnson	Pete Maravich
Season	1986-87	1977-78
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New Orleans Jazz
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	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	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
Pete Maravich	50	40.8	27.0	1.0	2.6	3.6	6.7	2.0	0.2	5.0	2.3	11.1	25.1	.444	-	-	-	4.8	5.5	.870
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
Pete Maravich	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Magic Johnson	Pete Maravich
Season	1987-88	1978-79
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New Orleans Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	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	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
Pete Maravich	49	37.2	22.6	0.7	1.8	2.5	5.0	1.2	0.4	4.1	2.1	8.9	21.1	.421	-	-	-	4.8	5.7	.841
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
Pete Maravich	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 10
	Magic Johnson	Pete Maravich
Season	1988-89	1979-80
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Utah Jazz, Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Celtics 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	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
Pete Maravich	43	22.4	13.7	0.4	1.4	1.8	1.9	0.6	0.1	1.9	1.8	5.7	12.6	.449	0.2	0.3	.667	2.1	2.4	.867
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
Pete Maravich	9	11.6	6.0	0.0	0.9	0.9	0.7	0.3	0.0	1.0	1.3	2.8	5.7	.490	0.2	0.7	.333	0.2	0.3	.667

Season 11
	Magic Johnson	Pete Maravich
Season	1989-90	-
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	-
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West 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	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
Pete Maravich	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
Pete Maravich	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 12
	Magic Johnson	Pete Maravich
Season	1990-91	-
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	-
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA 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	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
Pete Maravich	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
Pete Maravich	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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