Derek Harper vs. Magic Johnson Season by Season Comparison

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

Derek Harper played 16 years in the NBA, 3 more than Magic Johnson, who played 13. Derek Harper had the first of his seasons in 1983-84, 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
Derek Harper	16	10	1983-84 to 1998-99
Magic Johnson	13	13	1979-80 to 1995-96

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16


Rookie Season
	Derek Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1983-84	1979-80
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks 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		%
Derek Harper	82	20.9	5.7	0.6	1.5	2.1	2.9	1.2	0.3	1.4	1.7	2.4	5.5	.443	0.0	0.3	.115	0.8	1.2	.673
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		%
Derek Harper	10	22.6	5.0	0.8	1.2	2.0	2.8	1.1	0.2	0.6	1.6	2.1	5.4	.389	0.3	0.8	.375	0.5	0.7	.714
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
	Derek Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1984-85	1980-81
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Steals Leader
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West 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		%
Derek Harper	82	27.0	9.6	0.6	1.9	2.4	4.4	1.8	0.5	1.5	2.4	4.0	7.7	.520	0.3	0.7	.344	1.4	1.9	.721
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		%
Derek Harper	4	33.0	6.5	0.3	2.8	3.0	5.0	1.5	0.3	1.0	3.0	2.5	5.3	.476	0.3	0.8	.333	1.3	1.8	.714
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
	Derek Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1985-86	1981-82
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Steals Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks 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		%
Derek Harper	79	27.2	12.2	0.9	1.9	2.9	5.3	1.9	0.3	1.8	2.1	4.9	9.2	.534	0.2	0.6	.235	2.2	2.9	.747
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		%
Derek Harper	10	34.8	13.4	1.3	0.6	1.9	7.6	2.3	0.0	2.3	2.7	5.7	10.7	.533	0.8	1.4	.571	1.2	1.6	.750
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
	Derek Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1986-87	1982-83
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West 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		%
Derek Harper	77	33.2	16.0	0.7	1.9	2.6	7.9	2.2	0.3	1.8	2.5	6.5	12.9	.501	1.0	2.8	.358	2.1	3.0	.684
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		%
Derek Harper	4	30.8	16.5	0.5	2.5	3.0	6.8	1.8	0.0	1.3	1.8	5.0	10.0	.500	0.5	2.3	.222	6.0	7.5	.800
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
	Derek Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1987-88	1983-84
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Derek Harper	82	37.0	17.0	0.9	2.1	3.0	7.7	2.0	0.4	2.3	2.0	6.5	14.2	.459	0.7	2.3	.313	3.2	4.2	.759
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		%
Derek Harper	17	35.4	13.5	0.6	1.9	2.5	7.1	1.9	0.3	1.9	2.6	5.2	11.9	.441	0.5	2.1	.250	2.5	3.5	.729
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
	Derek Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1988-89	1984-85
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	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		%
Derek Harper	81	36.6	17.3	0.6	2.2	2.8	7.0	2.1	0.5	2.5	2.7	6.6	13.9	.477	1.2	3.4	.356	2.8	3.5	.806
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		%
Derek Harper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Derek Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1989-90	1985-86
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks 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		%
Derek Harper	82	36.7	18.0	0.7	2.3	3.0	7.4	2.3	0.3	2.5	2.7	6.9	14.2	.488	1.1	2.9	.371	3.0	3.8	.794
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		%
Derek Harper	3	39.7	19.3	0.7	2.0	2.7	7.7	1.3	0.0	4.0	4.3	7.0	16.0	.438	1.7	5.3	.313	3.7	5.3	.688
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
	Derek Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1990-91	1986-87
Team	Dallas Mavericks	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		%
Derek Harper	77	37.4	19.7	0.8	2.3	3.0	7.1	1.9	0.2	2.3	2.9	7.4	15.9	.467	1.2	3.2	.362	3.7	5.1	.731
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		%
Derek 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
	Derek Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1991-92	1987-88
Team	Dallas Mavericks	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		%
Derek Harper	65	34.6	17.7	0.8	1.9	2.6	5.7	1.6	0.3	2.4	2.3	6.9	15.6	.443	0.9	2.9	.312	3.0	4.0	.759
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		%
Derek Harper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Derek Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1992-93	1988-89
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	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		%
Derek Harper	62	34.0	18.2	0.7	1.3	2.0	5.4	1.3	0.3	2.2	2.3	6.3	15.1	.419	1.6	4.1	.393	3.9	5.1	.756
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		%
Derek Harper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Derek Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1993-94	1989-90
Team	Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Knicks Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Derek Harper	82	26.9	9.6	0.2	1.5	1.7	4.1	1.5	0.1	1.6	2.0	3.7	9.1	.407	0.9	2.5	.360	1.4	2.0	.687
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		%
Derek Harper	23	32.6	11.4	0.6	1.8	2.3	4.5	1.8	0.0	1.8	2.7	4.3	10.0	.429	1.3	3.7	.341	1.6	2.4	.643
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
	Derek Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1994-95	1990-91
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Derek Harper	80	34.0	11.5	0.4	2.0	2.4	5.7	1.0	0.1	1.9	2.7	4.2	9.5	.446	1.3	3.7	.363	1.7	2.4	.724
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		%
Derek Harper	11	35.3	14.3	0.5	3.0	3.5	5.6	1.0	0.1	2.4	2.6	5.1	9.9	.514	2.5	4.3	.574	1.6	2.2	.750
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
	Derek Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1995-96	1995-96
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Derek Harper	82	35.3	14.0	0.4	2.1	2.5	4.3	1.6	0.1	2.2	2.5	5.3	11.5	.464	1.5	4.0	.372	1.9	2.5	.757
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		%
Derek Harper	8	36.6	10.0	0.0	2.1	2.1	4.8	1.3	0.1	1.8	3.0	3.6	10.3	.354	1.4	4.4	.314	1.4	1.9	.733
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
	Derek Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1996-97	-
Team	Dallas Mavericks	-
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		%
Derek Harper	75	29.5	10.0	0.4	1.4	1.8	4.3	1.2	0.2	1.8	1.9	4.0	9.0	.444	0.8	2.3	.341	1.3	1.7	.742
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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


Season 15
	Derek Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1997-98	-
Team	Orlando Magic	-
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		%
Derek Harper	66	26.7	8.6	0.3	1.2	1.6	3.5	1.1	0.2	1.5	2.1	3.4	8.2	.417	0.9	2.5	.360	0.8	1.2	.696
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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


Season 16
	Derek Harper	Magic Johnson
Season	1998-99	-
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	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		%
Derek Harper	45	24.9	6.9	0.3	1.2	1.5	4.2	1.0	0.1	1.2	1.5	2.7	6.5	.412	1.0	2.6	.368	0.6	0.7	.813
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Derek Harper	7	16.0	4.3	0.1	1.3	1.4	2.1	0.3	0.0	0.6	0.3	1.9	4.4	.419	0.1	1.4	.100	0.4	0.9	.500
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Derek Harper vs. Magic Johnson Season by Season Comparison

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

Season 16