Larry Johnson vs. Magic Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Magic Johnson and Larry 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 / Stats / Stats Rankings / 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.

Larry Johnson played 10 years in the NBA, 3 less than Magic Johnson, who played 13. Larry Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1991-92, 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 achievements, 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
Larry Johnson	10	6	1991-92 to 2000-01
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


Rookie Season
	Larry Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	1991-92	1979-80
Team	Charlotte Hornets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Johnson	82	37.2	19.2	3.9	7.0	11.0	3.6	1.0	0.6	2.0	2.7	7.5	15.3	.490	0.1	0.3	.227	4.1	5.0	.829
difference:	+5	+0.9	+1.2	+1.7	+1.4	+3.3	+3.7	+1.4	+0.1	-2.0	-0.1	+1.0	+3.0	+.040		+0.1	+.001	+0.8	+1.0	+.019
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		%
Larry Johnson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Larry Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	1992-93	1980-81
Team	Charlotte Hornets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	Steals Leader
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Hornets Lost East Conf Semis	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Johnson	82	40.5	22.1	3.4	7.1	10.5	4.3	0.6	0.3	2.8	2.3	8.9	16.9	.526	0.2	0.9	.254	4.1	5.3	.767
difference:	+45	+3.4	+0.5	+0.7	+1.2	+1.9	+4.3	+2.8	+0.4	-1.1	-0.4	+0.5	+1.0	+.006	+0.1	+0.4	+.078	+0.5	+0.8	+.007
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		%
Larry Johnson	9	38.7	19.8	2.1	4.8	6.9	3.3	0.6	0.2	2.1	3.0	7.6	13.6	.557	0.1	0.4	.250	4.6	5.8	.788
difference:	+6	+3.6	+2.8	+0.6	+6.2	+6.8	+3.7	+2.1	+0.8	-1.6	-1.7	+1.3	+2.7	+.169	+0.1	+0.4		+0.3	+0.9	+.138
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
	Larry Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	1993-94	1981-82
Team	Charlotte Hornets	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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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Johnson	51	34.5	16.4	2.8	6.0	8.8	3.6	0.6	0.3	2.3	2.6	6.8	13.2	.515	0.1	0.4	.238	2.7	3.9	.695
difference:	+27	+3.8	+2.2	+0.4	+0.4	+0.8	+5.9	+2.1	+0.1	-1.4	-0.3	+0.3	+0.1	+.022			+.031	+1.5	+1.7	+.065
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		%
Larry Johnson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Larry Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	1994-95	1982-83
Team	Charlotte Hornets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hornets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Johnson	81	39.9	18.8	2.3	4.9	7.2	4.6	1.0	0.3	2.6	2.1	7.2	15.0	.480	1.0	2.6	.386	3.4	4.4	.774
difference:	+2	+3.1	+2.0	+0.4	+1.0	+1.4	+5.9	+1.2	+0.3	-1.2	-0.4	+0.7	+3.2	+.068	+1.0	+2.3	+.386	+0.4	+0.4	+.026
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		%
Larry Johnson	4	43.0	20.8	2.5	3.3	5.8	2.8	1.0	0.5	1.5	1.8	7.8	16.3	.477	0.3	2.3	.111	5.0	6.3	.800
difference:	+11	+0.1	+2.9	+0.9	+1.8	+2.7	+10.0	+1.3	+0.3	-2.8	-1.5	+1.1	+2.6	+.008	+0.3	+1.6	+.111	+0.5	+0.9	+.040
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
	Larry Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	1995-96	1983-84
Team	Charlotte Hornets	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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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Johnson	81	40.4	20.5	3.1	5.4	8.4	4.4	0.7	0.5	2.2	2.1	7.2	15.1	.476	0.8	2.3	.366	5.3	7.0	.757
difference:	+14	+2.1	+2.9	+1.6	+0.5	+1.1	+8.7	+1.5	+0.2	-2.4	-0.4	+0.6	+3.5	+.089	+0.7	+1.9	+.159	+1.0	+1.7	+.053
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		%
Larry Johnson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Larry Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	1996-97	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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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Johnson	76	34.4	12.8	2.2	3.0	5.2	2.3	0.8	0.5	1.8	3.3	4.9	9.7	.512	0.4	1.4	.324	2.5	3.6	.693
difference:	+1	+1.7	+5.5	+1.0	+2.0	+1.0	+10.3	+0.7	+0.2	-2.2	-1.3	+1.6	+2.0	+.049	+0.3	+0.9	+.135	+2.6	+2.4	+.150
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		%
Larry Johnson	9	32.6	13.8	1.2	2.8	4.0	2.6	0.8	0.1	1.7	3.0	4.8	8.6	.558	0.7	1.9	.353	3.6	4.2	.842
difference:	+10	+3.6	+3.7	+0.2	+3.3	+3.1	+12.6	+0.9	+0.1	-2.3	-0.5	+1.3	+3.3	+.045	+0.6	+1.5	+.210	+1.7	+2.0	+.005
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
	Larry Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	1997-98	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

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Johnson	70	34.5	15.5	2.5	3.2	5.7	2.1	0.6	0.2	1.8	2.8	6.1	12.6	.485	0.2	0.9	.238	3.1	4.0	.756
difference:	+2	+1.3	+3.3	+1.3	+1.5	+0.2	+10.5	+1.0		-2.0	-1.0	+0.6	+0.2	+.041	+0.1	+0.3	+.005	+2.2	+2.0	+.115
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		%
Larry Johnson	8	38.8	17.9	3.1	3.5	6.6	1.6	1.3	0.4	3.1	3.8	6.5	13.4	.486	0.3	1.3	.200	4.6	6.3	.740
difference:	+6	+0.2	+3.7	+1.6	+2.1	+0.5	+13.5	+0.6	+0.3	-0.1	-0.7	+1.4	+1.2	+.051	+0.3	+0.5	+.200	+1.3	+1.3	+.026
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
	Larry Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	1998-99	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	Knicks Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Johnson	49	33.4	12.0	1.9	3.9	5.8	2.4	0.7	0.2	1.8	3.0	4.3	9.3	.459	0.7	1.9	.359	2.7	3.3	.817
difference:	+31	+2.9	+11.9	+0.4	+0.9	+0.5	+9.8	+1.0	+0.3	-2.0	-0.9	+4.2	+7.1	+.063	+0.6	+1.4	+.154	+4.0	+4.6	+.031
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		%
Larry Johnson	20	34.1	11.5	1.1	3.8	4.9	1.6	1.1	0.1	1.7	3.2	4.4	10.2	.426	1.2	4.1	.293	1.6	2.3	.674
difference:	+2	+2.9	+10.3	+0.5	+2.4	+2.8	+10.6	+0.6	+0.3	-1.1	-1.1	+3.7	+4.9	+.113	+1.1	+3.5	+.093	+3.8	+4.3	+.157
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
	Larry Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	1999-00	1987-88
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Finals	NBA Champion

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Johnson	70	32.6	10.7	1.2	4.2	5.4	2.5	0.6	0.1	1.3	2.9	4.0	9.3	.433	0.8	2.5	.333	1.8	2.4	.766
difference:	+2	+4.0	+8.9		+0.8	+0.8	+9.4	+1.0	+0.1	-2.4	-0.9	+2.8	+4.5	+.059	+0.6	+1.7	+.137	+4.0	+4.4	+.087
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		%
Larry Johnson	16	36.8	11.3	0.9	4.1	5.0	1.6	0.5	0.1	1.4	2.9	4.4	9.5	.461	0.8	2.1	.394	1.7	2.1	.794
difference:	+8	+3.4	+8.6	+0.4		+0.4	+11.0	+0.9	+0.1	-2.1	-0.4	+2.6	+4.2	+.053	+0.5	+1.5	+.106	+3.8	+4.4	+.058
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
	Larry Johnson	Magic Johnson
Season	2000-01	1988-89
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Johnson	65	32.4	9.9	1.4	4.2	5.6	2.0	0.6	0.4	1.5	3.2	3.8	9.2	.411	0.8	2.5	.313	1.6	2.0	.797
difference:	+12	+5.1	+12.6		+2.2	+2.3	+10.8	+1.2	+0.1	-2.6	-1.0	+3.7	+5.6	+.098		+0.1	+.001	+5.1	+5.3	+.114
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		%
Larry Johnson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Additional Years
* Magic Johnson played 3 seasons more than Larry Johnson in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 13, from 1990 to 1996—Magic Johnson played in 3 Playoffs. In those 3 extra years over Larry Johnson, Magic Johnson got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Season MVP 2 All-NBA First Team 2 All-Star Game 1 All-Star Game MVP

Larry Johnson vs. Magic Johnson Season by Season Comparison

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

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years