Ernie Grunfeld vs. Magic Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Magic Johnson and Ernie Grunfeld, 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.

Ernie Grunfeld played 9 years in the NBA, 4 less than Magic Johnson, who played 13. Ernie Grunfeld 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
Ernie Grunfeld	9	5	1977-78 to 1985-86
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
	Ernie Grunfeld	Magic Johnson
Season	1977-78	1979-80
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks 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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	73	17.3	6.9	1.0	1.7	2.7	2.0	0.7	0.3	1.3	2.1	2.8	6.3	.443	-	-	-	1.3	2.0	.657
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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	7	11.0	5.4	0.6	1.0	1.6	2.4	0.4	0.1	1.0	0.9	2.4	4.6	.531	-	-	-	0.6	0.7	.800
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
	Ernie Grunfeld	Magic Johnson
Season	1978-79	1980-81
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	82	21.7	10.3	1.5	2.9	4.4	2.6	0.7	0.2	1.7	2.7	4.0	8.1	.493	-	-	-	2.3	3.1	.761
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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Ernie Grunfeld	Magic Johnson
Season	1979-80	1981-82
Team	Kansas City Kings	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Steals Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Kings 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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	80	17.5	5.9	1.1	1.8	2.9	1.4	0.7	0.1	1.0	1.9	2.3	5.3	.443	0.0	0.0	.500	1.3	1.6	.771
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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	3	10.7	3.7	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.7	3.0	.556	0.0	0.0	-	0.3	1.0	.333
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
	Ernie Grunfeld	Magic Johnson
Season	1980-81	1982-83
Team	Kansas City Kings	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Kings 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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	79	20.1	7.5	0.4	2.2	2.6	2.6	0.8	0.2	1.1	2.0	3.3	6.2	.535	0.0	0.0	-	0.9	1.3	.743
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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	15	42.2	16.8	0.7	3.5	4.2	5.9	2.0	0.6	2.9	3.4	6.5	13.4	.488	0.1	0.3	.500	3.6	4.5	.806
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
	Ernie Grunfeld	Magic Johnson
Season	1981-82	1983-84
Team	Kansas City Kings	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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	81	23.4	12.7	0.7	1.6	2.2	3.4	0.9	0.5	1.8	2.4	5.2	10.1	.511	0.0	0.2	.143	2.3	2.8	.821
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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Ernie Grunfeld	Magic Johnson
Season	1982-83	1984-85
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks 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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	77	18.5	5.4	0.5	1.6	2.1	1.8	0.5	0.1	1.1	2.2	2.2	4.9	.443	0.0	0.1	.000	1.1	1.3	.827
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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	6	19.7	8.0	0.3	1.0	1.3	1.7	1.2	0.3	1.5	2.8	2.5	5.7	.441	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	3.2	.947
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
	Ernie Grunfeld	Magic Johnson
Season	1983-84	1985-86
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	76	14.7	5.2	0.3	1.3	1.6	1.4	0.6	0.1	0.9	2.0	2.2	4.8	.459	0.0	0.1	.222	0.8	1.1	.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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	11	7.6	2.4	0.1	0.7	0.8	0.5	0.2	0.0	0.4	1.1	1.0	2.1	.478	0.0	0.0	-	0.4	0.4	1.000
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
	Ernie Grunfeld	Magic Johnson
Season	1984-85	1986-87
Team	New York Knicks	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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	69	15.4	6.6	0.6	1.6	2.2	1.5	0.7	0.1	0.6	1.9	2.7	5.6	.490	0.0	0.1	.250	1.1	1.5	.740
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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Ernie Grunfeld	Magic Johnson
Season	1985-86	1987-88
Team	New York Knicks	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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	76	18.4	5.4	0.6	2.2	2.7	1.6	0.5	0.2	0.7	2.5	1.9	4.7	.417	0.3	0.8	.426	1.2	1.4	.833
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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Ernie Grunfeld	Magic Johnson
Season	-	1988-89
Team	-	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Ernie Grunfeld	Magic Johnson
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

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ernie Grunfeld	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Ernie Grunfeld	Magic Johnson
Season	-	1990-91
Team	-	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Ernie Grunfeld	Magic Johnson
Season	-	1995-96
Team	-	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Ernie Grunfeld	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Ernie Grunfeld vs. Magic Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Magic Johnson and Ernie Grunfeld, 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