Vinnie Johnson vs. Magic Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Magic Johnson and Vinnie 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 / 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.

Vinnie Johnson and Magic Johnson both played 13 years in the NBA. Vinnie Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, 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
Vinnie Johnson	13	10	1979-80 to 1991-92
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


Rookie Season
	Vinnie Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	1979-80	1979-80
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Vinnie Johnson	38	8.6	3.2	0.5	0.9	1.4	1.4	0.5	0.1	1.1	1.1	1.2	3.0	.391	0.0	0.0	.000	0.8	1.0	.795
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	5	2.4	0.4	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.6	.333	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	1980-81	1980-81
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Steals Leader
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Vinnie Johnson	81	28.5	13.0	2.4	2.1	4.5	4.2	1.0	0.2	2.7	2.4	5.2	9.7	.534	0.0	0.1	.200	2.6	3.3	.793
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	1981-82	1981-82
Team	Seattle Supersonics, Detroit Pistons	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Steals Leader
	-	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		%
Vinnie Johnson	74	17.5	7.4	1.1	1.0	2.1	2.3	0.8	0.3	1.3	1.4	2.9	6.0	.489	0.0	0.2	.250	1.4	1.9	.754
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	1982-83	1982-83
Team	Detroit Pistons	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		%
Vinnie Johnson	82	30.6	15.8	2.0	2.3	4.3	3.7	1.1	0.6	1.9	3.2	6.3	12.4	.513	0.1	0.5	.275	3.0	3.8	.778
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	1983-84	1983-84
Team	Detroit Pistons	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Vinnie Johnson	82	23.3	13.0	1.6	1.3	2.9	3.3	0.5	0.2	1.6	2.4	5.2	11.0	.473	0.0	0.2	.211	2.5	3.4	.753
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	5	26.4	10.2	1.0	1.8	2.8	2.4	0.2	0.2	0.8	1.8	3.4	9.2	.370	0.0	0.2	.000	3.4	3.8	.895
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	1984-85	1984-85
Team	Detroit Pistons	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Vinnie Johnson	82	25.5	12.8	1.6	1.4	3.1	4.0	0.9	0.2	1.6	2.5	5.2	11.5	.454	0.1	0.3	.185	2.3	3.0	.769
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	9	26.1	14.2	1.7	1.3	3.0	3.2	0.7	0.1	1.7	2.7	5.9	11.4	.515	0.0	0.3	.000	2.4	3.1	.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
	Vinnie Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	1985-86	1985-86
Team	Detroit Pistons	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Lakers Lost West 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		%
Vinnie Johnson	79	25.0	13.9	1.5	1.4	2.9	3.4	1.0	0.3	1.1	2.3	5.9	12.6	.467	0.0	0.2	.154	2.1	2.7	.771
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	4	21.3	12.8	2.0	2.3	4.3	2.8	0.8	0.0	1.3	2.3	5.5	12.3	.449	0.0	0.3	.000	1.8	3.3	.538
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	1986-87	1986-87
Team	Detroit Pistons	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Vinnie Johnson	78	27.8	15.7	1.6	1.7	3.3	3.8	1.2	0.2	1.7	2.0	6.8	14.8	.462	0.1	0.2	.286	2.0	2.6	.786
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	15	25.9	14.7	1.3	1.6	2.9	4.1	0.6	0.3	1.5	2.2	6.3	13.8	.459	0.0	0.1	.000	2.1	2.4	.861
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	1987-88	1987-88
Team	Detroit Pistons	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Vinnie Johnson	82	23.6	12.2	1.1	1.7	2.8	3.3	0.7	0.2	1.9	2.0	5.2	11.7	.443	0.1	0.3	.208	1.8	2.6	.677
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	23	20.7	10.3	1.5	1.7	3.3	1.9	0.7	0.2	0.9	2.1	4.4	10.4	.423	0.0	0.3	.143	1.4	2.2	.660
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	1988-89	1988-89
Team	Detroit Pistons	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		%
Vinnie Johnson	82	25.3	13.8	1.3	1.8	3.1	3.0	0.9	0.2	1.3	1.9	5.6	12.1	.464	0.2	0.5	.295	2.4	3.2	.734
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	17	21.9	14.1	0.9	1.7	2.6	2.5	0.2	0.2	1.2	1.9	5.4	11.8	.455	0.6	1.4	.417	2.8	3.6	.758
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	1989-90	1989-90
Team	Detroit Pistons	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		%
Vinnie Johnson	82	24.0	9.8	1.3	1.8	3.1	3.1	0.9	0.2	1.5	1.7	4.1	9.5	.431	0.1	0.4	.147	1.6	2.4	.668
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	20	23.2	10.3	1.4	1.4	2.8	2.7	0.4	0.2	1.6	1.9	4.3	9.2	.462	0.1	0.4	.286	1.7	2.2	.791
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	1990-91	1990-91
Team	Detroit Pistons	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
Vinnie Johnson	82	29.1	11.7	1.3	2.1	3.4	3.3	0.9	0.2	1.4	2.0	5.0	11.4	.434	0.1	0.4	.324	1.6	2.5	.646
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	15	29.2	15.2	2.5	2.6	5.1	2.9	0.7	0.3	1.1	2.2	6.8	14.7	.464	0.1	0.9	.154	1.5	2.1	.710
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	1991-92	1995-96
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Vinnie Johnson	60	22.5	8.0	1.1	1.9	3.0	2.4	0.7	0.2	1.2	1.6	3.4	8.3	.405	0.3	1.0	.317	0.9	1.4	.647
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	3	23.0	8.3	1.0	1.7	2.7	2.3	1.7	0.3	1.7	2.3	3.7	8.0	.458	0.7	1.3	.500	0.3	0.7	.500
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

Vinnie Johnson vs. Magic Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Magic Johnson and Vinnie 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