Ron Harper vs. Magic Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Magic Johnson and Ron Harper, 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 / Games against each other

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.

Ron Harper played 15 years in the NBA, 2 more than Magic Johnson, who played 13. Ron Harper had the first of his seasons in 1986-87, while Magic Johnson had his rookie season in 1979-80. 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
Ron Harper	15	10	1986-87 to 2000-01
Magic Johnson	13	13	1979-80 to 1995-96

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


Rookie Season
	Ron Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1986-87	1979-80
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Ron Harper	82	37.4	22.9	2.1	2.7	4.8	4.8	2.5	1.0	4.2	3.0	9.0	19.7	.455	0.2	1.1	.213	4.7	6.9	.684
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 2
	Ron Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1987-88	1980-81
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Steals Leader
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Lakers Lost West 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		%
Ron Harper	57	32.1	15.4	1.1	2.8	3.9	4.9	2.1	0.9	2.8	2.8	6.0	12.8	.464	0.1	0.4	.150	3.4	4.9	.705
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	4	33.5	17.8	1.0	4.0	5.0	3.8	2.8	1.0	2.8	2.3	7.5	15.8	.476	0.0	0.5	.000	2.8	4.0	.688
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


Season 3
	Ron Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1988-89	1981-82
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Steals Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Ron Harper	82	34.8	18.6	1.5	3.5	5.0	5.3	2.3	0.9	2.8	2.7	7.2	14.0	.511	0.4	1.4	.250	3.9	5.2	.751
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	5	37.8	19.6	1.4	2.8	4.2	4.0	2.2	0.8	1.4	4.0	7.8	13.8	.565	0.0	0.4	.000	4.0	5.2	.769
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


Season 4
	Ron Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1989-90	1982-83
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Ron Harper	35	39.1	22.8	2.1	3.8	5.9	5.2	2.3	1.2	2.9	3.0	8.6	18.2	.473	0.4	1.5	.275	5.2	6.6	.788
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 5
	Ron Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1990-91	1983-84
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Ron Harper	39	35.5	19.6	1.5	3.3	4.8	5.4	1.7	0.9	3.3	2.8	7.3	18.7	.391	1.2	3.8	.324	3.7	5.6	.668
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 6
	Ron Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1991-92	1984-85
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Ron Harper	82	38.3	18.2	1.5	4.0	5.5	5.1	1.9	0.9	3.1	2.4	6.9	15.8	.440	0.8	2.6	.303	3.6	4.9	.736
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	5	41.2	18.0	2.0	4.4	6.4	4.6	1.0	0.8	3.0	2.6	7.8	17.4	.448	0.2	1.8	.111	2.2	2.8	.786
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


Season 7
	Ron Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1992-93	1985-86
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	80	37.1	18.0	1.5	3.9	5.3	4.5	2.2	0.9	2.8	2.7	6.8	15.0	.451	0.7	2.3	.280	3.8	5.0	.769
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	5	34.8	18.0	0.8	3.2	4.0	3.2	3.0	2.0	2.2	1.4	7.4	15.6	.474	1.0	2.0	.500	2.2	3.4	.647
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


Season 8
	Ron Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1993-94	1986-87
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	75	38.1	20.1	1.7	4.4	6.1	4.6	1.9	0.7	3.2	2.2	7.6	17.8	.426	0.9	3.1	.301	4.0	5.6	.715
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 9
	Ron Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1994-95	1987-88
Team	Chicago Bulls	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	77	19.9	6.9	0.7	1.7	2.3	2.0	1.3	0.4	1.3	1.7	2.7	6.4	.426	0.4	1.4	.282	1.1	1.7	.618
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	6	6.7	2.0	0.3	0.7	1.0	0.7	0.5	0.2	0.2	1.0	1.0	2.3	.429	0.0	0.3	.000	0.0	0.0	-
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


Season 10
	Ron Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1995-96	1988-89
Team	Chicago Bulls	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	80	23.6	7.4	0.9	1.7	2.7	2.6	1.3	0.4	0.9	1.7	2.9	6.3	.467	0.4	1.3	.269	1.2	1.7	.705
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	18	27.4	8.8	1.4	2.3	3.7	2.5	1.4	0.4	1.0	2.1	3.2	7.4	.425	0.8	2.6	.319	1.6	2.3	.690
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


Season 11
	Ron Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1996-97	1989-90
Team	Chicago Bulls	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	76	22.9	6.3	0.6	1.9	2.5	2.5	1.1	0.5	0.7	1.8	2.3	5.3	.436	0.9	2.5	.362	0.8	1.1	.707
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	19	27.1	7.5	1.1	3.2	4.3	3.0	1.3	0.7	0.6	2.3	2.6	6.6	.400	1.1	3.2	.344	1.1	1.5	.750
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


Season 12
	Ron Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1997-98	1990-91
Team	Chicago Bulls	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	82	27.9	9.3	1.3	2.2	3.5	2.9	1.3	0.6	1.1	2.2	3.6	8.1	.441	0.2	1.0	.190	2.0	2.6	.750
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	21	26.9	6.7	1.0	2.6	3.7	2.3	1.0	0.9	0.9	2.0	2.7	5.8	.459	0.2	0.9	.263	1.1	1.9	.615
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

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


Season 13
	Ron Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1998-99	1995-96
Team	Chicago Bulls	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers 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		%
Ron Harper	35	31.6	11.2	1.4	3.7	5.1	3.3	1.7	1.0	1.9	2.3	4.2	11.1	.377	0.8	2.4	.318	2.0	2.9	.703
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 14
	Ron Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1999-00	-
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	80	25.5	7.0	1.2	3.0	4.2	3.4	1.1	0.5	1.7	2.1	2.7	6.6	.399	0.4	1.3	.311	1.3	1.8	.680
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	23	28.0	8.6	1.3	2.4	3.7	3.2	1.0	0.6	1.2	2.7	3.4	7.9	.431	0.4	1.7	.231	1.4	2.0	.702
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 15
	Ron Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	2000-01	-
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	47	24.2	6.5	1.0	2.6	3.5	2.4	0.8	0.5	1.3	1.5	2.7	5.8	.469	0.4	1.5	.264	0.7	1.0	.708
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ron Harper	6	7.3	2.2	0.2	1.2	1.3	0.7	0.7	0.2	0.2	0.7	0.8	1.7	.500	0.2	0.7	.250	0.3	0.5	.667
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Ron Harper vs. Magic Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Magic Johnson and Ron Harper, 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