Gus Johnson vs. Michael Jordan Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Michael Jordan and Gus 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

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.

Gus Johnson played 10 years in the NBA, 5 less than Michael Jordan, who played 15. Gus Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1963-64, while Michael Jordan had his rookie season in 1984-85. 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
Gus Johnson	10	5	1963-64 to 1972-73
Michael Jordan	15	13	1984-85 to 2002-03

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


Rookie Season
	Gus Johnson	Michael Jordan
Season	1963-64	1984-85
Team	Baltimore Bullets	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rookie of the Year
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bulls Lost East 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		%
Gus Johnson	78	36.5	17.3	-	-	13.6	2.2	-	-	-	4.1	7.3	17.0	.430	-	-	-	2.7	4.1	.658
Michael Jordan	82	38.3	28.2	2.0	4.5	6.5	5.9	2.4	0.8	3.5	3.5	10.2	19.8	.515	0.1	0.6	.173	7.7	9.1	.845

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gus Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Jordan	4	42.8	29.3	1.8	4.0	5.8	8.5	2.8	1.0	3.8	3.8	8.5	19.5	.436	0.3	2.0	.125	12.0	14.5	.828


Season 2
	Gus Johnson	Michael Jordan
Season	1964-65	1985-86
Team	Baltimore Bullets	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bullets Lost West Div Finals	Bulls Lost East 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		%
Gus Johnson	76	38.1	18.6	-	-	13.0	3.6	-	-	-	3.4	7.6	18.1	.418	-	-	-	3.4	5.1	.676
Michael Jordan	18	25.1	22.7	1.3	2.3	3.6	2.9	2.1	1.2	2.5	2.6	8.3	18.2	.457	0.2	1.0	.167	5.8	6.9	.840

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gus Johnson	10	37.7	15.8	-	-	11.1	3.4	-	-	-	3.8	6.2	17.3	.358	-	-	-	3.4	4.6	.739
Michael Jordan	3	45.0	43.7	1.7	4.7	6.3	5.7	2.3	1.3	4.7	4.3	16.0	31.7	.505	0.3	0.3	1.000	11.3	13.0	.872


Season 3
	Gus Johnson	Michael Jordan
Season	1965-66	1986-87
Team	Baltimore Bullets	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bullets Lost West Div Semis	Bulls Lost East 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		%
Gus Johnson	42	30.6	16.1	-	-	13.0	2.7	-	-	-	3.2	6.5	15.7	.413	-	-	-	3.1	4.2	.736
Michael Jordan	82	40.0	37.1	2.0	3.2	5.2	4.6	2.9	1.5	3.3	2.9	13.4	27.8	.482	0.1	0.8	.182	10.2	11.9	.857

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gus Johnson	1	8.0	2.0	-	-	0	0.0	-	-	-	1.0	1.0	4.0	.250	-	-	-	0.0	0.0	-
Michael Jordan	3	42.7	35.7	2.3	4.7	7.0	6.0	2.0	2.3	2.7	3.7	11.7	28.0	.417	0.7	1.7	.400	11.7	13.0	.897


Season 4
	Gus Johnson	Michael Jordan
Season	1966-67	1987-88
Team	Baltimore Bullets	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	Steals Leader
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gus Johnson	73	36.0	20.7	-	-	11.7	2.7	-	-	-	3.8	8.5	18.9	.450	-	-	-	3.7	5.2	.708
Michael Jordan	82	40.4	35.0	1.7	3.8	5.5	5.9	3.2	1.6	3.1	3.3	13.0	24.4	.535	0.1	0.6	.132	8.8	10.5	.841

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gus Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Jordan	10	42.7	36.3	2.3	4.8	7.1	4.7	2.4	1.1	3.9	3.8	13.8	26.0	.531	0.1	0.3	.333	8.6	9.9	.869


Season 5
	Gus Johnson	Michael Jordan
Season	1967-68	1988-89
Team	Baltimore Bullets	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bulls Lost East 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		%
Gus Johnson	60	37.9	19.1	-	-	13.0	2.7	-	-	-	3.7	8.0	17.2	.467	-	-	-	3.0	4.5	.667
Michael Jordan	81	40.2	32.5	1.8	6.2	8.0	8.0	2.9	0.8	3.6	3.0	11.9	22.2	.538	0.3	1.2	.276	8.3	9.8	.850

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gus Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Jordan	17	42.2	34.8	1.5	5.5	7.0	7.6	2.5	0.8	4.0	3.8	11.7	22.9	.510	0.6	2.1	.286	10.8	13.5	.799


Season 6
	Gus Johnson	Michael Jordan
Season	1968-69	1989-90
Team	Baltimore Bullets	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	Steals Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bulls Lost East 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		%
Gus Johnson	49	34.1	17.9	-	-	11.6	2.0	-	-	-	3.6	7.3	16.0	.459	-	-	-	3.3	4.6	.717
Michael Jordan	82	39.0	33.6	1.7	5.1	6.9	6.3	2.8	0.7	3.0	2.9	12.6	24.0	.526	1.1	3.0	.376	7.2	8.5	.848

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gus Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Jordan	16	42.1	36.7	1.5	5.7	7.2	6.8	2.8	0.9	3.5	3.4	13.7	26.6	.514	1.0	3.1	.320	8.3	9.9	.836


Season 7
	Gus Johnson	Michael Jordan
Season	1969-70	1990-91
Team	Baltimore Bullets	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bullets Lost East Div Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gus Johnson	78	37.4	17.3	-	-	13.9	3.4	-	-	-	3.4	7.4	16.4	.451	-	-	-	2.5	3.5	.724
Michael Jordan	82	37.0	31.5	1.4	4.6	6.0	5.5	2.7	1.0	2.5	2.8	12.1	22.4	.539	0.4	1.1	.312	7.0	8.2	.851

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gus Johnson	7	42.6	18.4	-	-	11.4	1.3	-	-	-	2.9	7.3	15.9	.459	-	-	-	3.9	4.9	.794
Michael Jordan	17	40.5	31.1	1.1	5.3	6.4	8.4	2.4	1.4	2.5	3.1	11.6	22.1	.524	0.6	1.5	.385	7.4	8.7	.845


Season 8
	Gus Johnson	Michael Jordan
Season	1970-71	1991-92
Team	Baltimore Bullets	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bullets 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		%
Gus Johnson	66	38.5	18.2	-	-	17.1	2.9	-	-	-	3.4	7.5	16.5	.453	-	-	-	3.2	4.4	.738
Michael Jordan	80	38.8	30.1	1.1	5.3	6.4	6.1	2.3	0.9	2.5	2.5	11.8	22.7	.519	0.3	1.3	.270	6.1	7.4	.832

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gus Johnson	11	33.2	13.0	-	-	10.4	2.7	-	-	-	3.1	4.9	11.6	.422	-	-	-	3.2	4.3	.745
Michael Jordan	22	41.8	34.5	1.7	4.5	6.2	5.8	2.0	0.7	3.7	2.8	13.2	26.4	.499	0.8	2.0	.386	7.4	8.6	.857


Season 9
	Gus Johnson	Michael Jordan
Season	1971-72	1992-93
Team	Baltimore Bullets	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	Steals Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bullets 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		%
Gus Johnson	39	17.1	6.4	-	-	5.8	1.3	-	-	-	2.3	2.6	6.9	.383	-	-	-	1.1	1.6	.683
Michael Jordan	78	39.3	32.6	1.7	5.0	6.7	5.5	2.8	0.8	2.7	2.4	12.7	25.7	.495	1.0	2.9	.352	6.1	7.3	.837

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gus Johnson	5	15.4	4.0	-	-	5.0	0.6	-	-	-	3.4	1.8	6.0	.300	-	-	-	0.4	0.4	1.000
Michael Jordan	19	41.2	35.1	1.7	5.1	6.7	6.0	2.1	0.9	2.4	3.1	13.2	27.8	.475	1.5	3.8	.389	7.2	8.9	.805

Note: Michael Jordan didn't play in 1993-94.


Season 10
	Gus Johnson	Michael Jordan
Season	1972-73	1994-95
Team	Phoenix Suns	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gus Johnson	21	19.9	7.8	-	-	6.5	1.5	-	-	-	2.6	3.3	8.6	.381	-	-	-	1.2	1.7	.694
Michael Jordan	17	39.3	26.9	1.5	5.4	6.9	5.3	1.8	0.8	2.1	2.8	9.8	23.8	.411	0.9	1.9	.500	6.4	8.0	.801

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gus Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Jordan	10	42.0	31.5	2.0	4.5	6.5	4.5	2.3	1.4	4.1	3.0	12.0	24.8	.484	1.1	3.0	.367	6.4	7.9	.810


Season 11
	Gus Johnson	Michael Jordan
Season	-	1995-96
Team	-	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	-	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gus Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Jordan	82	37.7	30.4	1.8	4.8	6.6	4.3	2.2	0.5	2.4	2.4	11.2	22.6	.495	1.4	3.2	.427	6.7	8.0	.834

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gus Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Jordan	18	40.7	30.7	1.7	3.2	4.9	4.1	1.8	0.3	2.3	2.7	10.4	22.6	.459	1.4	3.4	.403	8.5	10.4	.818


Season 12
	Gus Johnson	Michael Jordan
Season	-	1996-97
Team	-	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gus Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Jordan	82	37.9	29.6	1.4	4.5	5.9	4.3	1.7	0.5	2.0	1.9	11.2	23.1	.486	1.4	3.6	.374	5.9	7.0	.833

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gus Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Jordan	19	42.3	31.1	2.2	5.7	7.9	4.8	1.6	0.9	2.6	2.4	11.9	26.2	.456	0.7	3.5	.194	6.5	7.8	.831


Season 13
	Gus Johnson	Michael Jordan
Season	-	1997-98
Team	-	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	-	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gus Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Jordan	82	38.8	28.7	1.6	4.2	5.8	3.5	1.7	0.5	2.3	1.8	10.7	23.1	.465	0.4	1.5	.238	6.9	8.8	.784

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gus Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Jordan	21	41.5	32.4	1.6	3.5	5.1	3.5	1.5	0.6	2.1	2.2	11.6	25.0	.462	0.6	2.0	.302	8.6	10.6	.812

Note: Michael Jordan didn't play in 1998-99, 1999-00 and 2000-01.


Season 14
	Gus Johnson	Michael Jordan
Season	-	2001-02
Team	-	Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
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		%
Gus Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Jordan	60	34.9	22.9	0.8	4.8	5.7	5.2	1.4	0.4	2.7	2.0	9.2	22.1	.416	0.2	0.9	.189	4.4	5.6	.790

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gus Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Jordan	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 15
	Gus Johnson	Michael Jordan
Season	-	2002-03
Team	-	Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
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		%
Gus Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Jordan	82	37.0	20.0	0.9	5.2	6.1	3.8	1.5	0.5	2.1	2.1	8.3	18.6	.445	0.2	0.7	.291	3.2	4.0	.821

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gus Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Jordan	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Gus Johnson vs. Michael Jordan Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Michael Jordan and Gus 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

Season 14

Season 15