Walter Davis vs. Magic Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Magic Johnson and Walter Davis, 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.

Walter Davis played 15 years in the NBA, 2 more than Magic Johnson, who played 13. Walter Davis had the first of his seasons in 1977-78, 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
Walter Davis	15	10	1977-78 to 1991-92
Magic Johnson	13	13	1979-80 to 1995-96

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


Rookie Season
	Walter Davis	Magic Johnson
Season	1977-78	1979-80
Team	Phoenix Suns	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns 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		%
Walter Davis	81	32.0	24.2	2.0	4.0	6.0	3.4	1.4	0.2	3.5	3.0	9.7	18.4	.526	-	-	-	4.8	5.8	.830
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		%
Walter Davis	2	33.0	25.0	2.0	6.5	8.5	4.0	1.5	0.0	3.0	4.0	9.5	20.0	.475	-	-	-	6.0	8.0	.750
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
	Walter Davis	Magic Johnson
Season	1978-79	1980-81
Team	Phoenix Suns	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	Steals Leader
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Walter Davis	79	30.8	23.6	1.4	3.3	4.7	4.3	1.9	0.3	3.7	3.2	9.7	17.2	.561	-	-	-	4.3	5.2	.831
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		%
Walter Davis	15	32.7	22.1	1.6	3.0	4.6	5.3	1.7	0.3	4.4	2.7	8.5	16.3	.520	-	-	-	5.2	6.4	.813
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
	Walter Davis	Magic Johnson
Season	1979-80	1981-82
Team	Phoenix Suns	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Steals Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West 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		%
Walter Davis	75	30.8	21.5	1.0	2.6	3.6	4.5	1.5	0.3	3.2	2.7	8.8	15.5	.563	0.0	0.1	.000	4.0	4.9	.819
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		%
Walter Davis	8	30.6	20.8	1.1	1.8	2.9	4.4	0.5	0.1	2.5	2.5	8.6	17.1	.504	0.0	0.4	.000	3.5	4.8	.737
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
	Walter Davis	Magic Johnson
Season	1980-81	1982-83
Team	Phoenix Suns	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Walter Davis	78	28.0	18.0	0.8	1.8	2.6	3.9	1.2	0.2	2.8	2.5	7.6	14.1	.539	0.1	0.2	.412	2.7	3.2	.836
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		%
Walter Davis	7	28.4	16.0	1.0	1.7	2.7	3.1	1.0	0.1	2.4	2.4	7.3	15.1	.481	0.0	0.1	.000	1.4	2.4	.588
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
	Walter Davis	Magic Johnson
Season	1981-82	1983-84
Team	Phoenix Suns	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Walter Davis	55	21.5	14.4	0.4	1.5	1.9	2.9	0.8	0.1	2.0	1.9	6.4	12.2	.523	0.1	0.3	.188	1.7	2.0	.820
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		%
Walter Davis	7	24.7	18.1	0.7	2.4	3.1	4.3	0.7	0.1	1.7	2.7	7.4	16.6	.448	0.1	0.4	.333	3.1	3.4	.917
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
	Walter Davis	Magic Johnson
Season	1982-83	1984-85
Team	Phoenix Suns	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns 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		%
Walter Davis	80	31.1	19.0	0.8	1.7	2.5	5.0	1.5	0.2	2.4	2.3	8.3	16.1	.516	0.1	0.3	.304	2.3	2.8	.818
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		%
Walter Davis	3	37.7	26.0	1.7	3.3	5.0	4.3	2.0	1.7	1.7	2.0	10.0	23.0	.435	0.3	0.7	.500	5.7	7.0	.810
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
	Walter Davis	Magic Johnson
Season	1983-84	1985-86
Team	Phoenix Suns	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Walter Davis	78	32.6	20.0	0.5	2.1	2.6	5.5	1.4	0.2	2.7	2.6	8.4	16.3	.512	0.3	1.1	.230	3.0	3.5	.863
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		%
Walter Davis	17	36.6	24.9	0.9	1.8	2.7	6.4	1.7	0.2	2.5	3.2	10.3	19.2	.535	0.2	0.6	.273	4.1	4.6	.897
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
	Walter Davis	Magic Johnson
Season	1984-85	1986-87
Team	Phoenix Suns	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		%
Walter Davis	23	24.8	15.0	0.3	1.3	1.5	4.3	0.8	0.0	2.2	1.8	6.0	13.4	.450	0.1	0.4	.300	2.8	3.2	.877
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		%
Walter Davis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Walter Davis	Magic Johnson
Season	1985-86	1987-88
Team	Phoenix Suns	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	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		%
Walter Davis	70	32.0	21.8	0.8	2.1	2.9	5.2	1.4	0.0	3.1	2.2	8.9	18.4	.485	0.3	1.1	.237	3.7	4.4	.843
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		%
Walter Davis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Walter Davis	Magic Johnson
Season	1986-87	1988-89
Team	Phoenix Suns	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Walter Davis	79	33.5	23.6	1.1	1.9	3.1	4.6	1.2	0.1	2.9	2.3	9.9	19.2	.514	0.3	1.0	.259	3.6	4.2	.862
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		%
Walter Davis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Walter Davis	Magic Johnson
Season	1987-88	1989-90
Team	Phoenix Suns	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Walter Davis	68	28.7	17.9	0.5	1.9	2.3	4.1	1.3	0.0	1.9	1.9	7.2	15.2	.473	0.5	1.4	.375	3.0	3.4	.887
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		%
Walter Davis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Walter Davis	Magic Johnson
Season	1988-89	1990-91
Team	Denver Nuggets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Walter Davis	81	22.9	15.6	0.5	1.4	1.9	2.3	0.9	0.1	1.6	2.3	6.6	13.3	.498	0.2	0.9	.290	2.2	2.5	.879
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		%
Walter Davis	3	31.3	25.7	0.7	1.0	1.7	1.3	1.0	0.0	2.7	3.7	10.3	20.0	.517	0.0	1.3	.000	5.0	5.0	1.000
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
	Walter Davis	Magic Johnson
Season	1989-90	1995-96
Team	Denver Nuggets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Nuggets 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		%
Walter Davis	69	23.7	17.5	0.7	1.9	2.6	2.2	0.9	0.1	1.5	2.3	7.2	15.0	.481	0.1	0.7	.130	3.0	3.3	.912
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		%
Walter Davis	3	23.3	14.0	1.3	1.7	3.0	2.0	0.3	0.0	1.7	1.3	6.0	15.0	.400	0.0	0.3	.000	2.0	2.0	1.000
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
	Walter Davis	Magic Johnson
Season	1990-91	-
Team	Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Trail Blazers 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		%
Walter Davis	71	20.9	13.0	1.0	1.5	2.5	1.8	1.1	0.0	1.2	2.1	5.7	12.1	.468	0.2	0.5	.306	1.5	1.6	.915
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Walter Davis	13	8.5	3.3	0.5	0.6	1.2	0.5	0.3	0.0	0.5	0.4	1.5	3.7	.396	0.0	0.1	.000	0.4	0.5	.833
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 15
	Walter Davis	Magic Johnson
Season	1991-92	-
Team	Denver Nuggets	-
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		%
Walter Davis	46	16.1	9.9	0.4	1.1	1.5	1.5	0.6	0.0	1.0	1.5	4.0	8.8	.459	0.1	0.3	.313	1.8	2.0	.872
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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

Walter Davis vs. Magic Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Magic Johnson and Walter Davis, 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