Magic Johnson vs. Fred VanVleet Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Fred VanVleet and Magic 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 / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings

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.

Magic Johnson played 13 years in the NBA, 4 more than Fred VanVleet, who played 9. Magic Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Fred VanVleet had his rookie season in 2016-17. 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
Magic Johnson	13	13	1979-80 to 1995-96
Fred VanVleet	9	6	2016-17 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9


Rookie Season
	Magic Johnson	Fred VanVleet
Season	1979-80	2016-17
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Raptors Lost East Conf Semis

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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		%
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
difference:	+40	+28.4	+15.1	+2.1	+4.6	+6.6	+6.4	+2.0	+0.4	-3.6	-1.8	+5.4	+9.3	+.179	+0.2	+0.4	+.153	+4.4	+5.4	+.008
Fred VanVleet	37	7.9	2.9	0.1	1.0	1.1	0.9	0.4	0.1	0.4	1.0	1.1	3.0	.351	0.3	0.8	.379	0.5	0.6	.818

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+9	+37.0	+16.3	+3.3	+7.2	+10.4	+8.8	+3.0	+0.4	-4.0	-2.5	+5.5	+11.1	+.149	+0.2	+0.2	+.150	+5.3	+6.6
Fred VanVleet	7	4.1	2.0	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.6	0.1	0.0	0.1	0.4	0.9	1.3	.667	0.3	0.7	.400	0.0	0.0	-


Season 2
	Magic Johnson	Fred VanVleet
Season	1980-81	2017-18
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	Steals Leader	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Raptors Lost East Conf Semis

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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		%
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
difference:	+39	+17.1	+13.0	+2.4	+3.8	+6.2	+5.4	+2.5	+0.4	-2.9	-1.0	+5.3	+8.7	+.106	+1.3	+2.9	+.238	+3.5	+4.8	+.072
Fred VanVleet	76	20.0	8.6	0.3	2.1	2.4	3.2	0.9	0.3	1.0	1.7	3.1	7.2	.426	1.4	3.4	.414	1.1	1.3	.832

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+3	+23.3	+10.2	+2.7	+9.3	+12.0	+4.8	+2.7	+1.0	-3.0	-3.4	+4.1	+9.8	+.055	+1.3	+4.7		+3.1	+5.4	+.225
Fred VanVleet	6	19.0	6.8	0.0	1.7	1.7	2.2	0.0	0.0	0.7	1.3	2.2	6.5	.333	1.3	4.7	.286	1.2	1.3	.875


Season 3
	Magic Johnson	Fred VanVleet
Season	1981-82	2018-19
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
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
difference:	+14	+10.8	+7.6	+2.9	+4.1	+7.0	+4.7	+1.8	+0.1	-2.4	-1.2	+3.3	+3.9	+.127	+1.7	+4.2	+.171	+2.7	+3.8	+.083
Fred VanVleet	64	27.5	11.0	0.3	2.3	2.6	4.8	0.9	0.3	1.3	1.7	3.8	9.4	.410	1.8	4.6	.378	1.5	1.8	.843

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+10	+15.4	+9.4	+3.6	+6.0	+9.6	+6.7	+2.1	+0.1	-2.2	-1.6	+3.2	+4.3	+.137	+1.6	+3.8	+.388	+4.5	+5.3	+.054
Fred VanVleet	24	24.7	8.0	0.3	1.4	1.7	2.6	0.8	0.3	0.9	2.0	2.7	6.9	.392	1.6	4.1	.388	1.0	1.3	.774


Season 4
	Magic Johnson	Fred VanVleet
Season	1982-83	2019-20
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Raptors Lost East Conf Semis

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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		%
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
difference:	+25	+1.1	+0.8	+2.4	+2.5	+4.8	+3.9	+0.3	+0.3	-1.6	-0.1	+0.6	+2.5	+.135	+2.7	+6.6	+.390	+0.7	+1.1	+.048
Fred VanVleet	54	35.7	17.6	0.3	3.4	3.8	6.6	1.9	0.3	2.2	2.4	5.9	14.3	.413	2.7	6.9	.390	3.1	3.7	.848

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+4	+3.8	+1.7	+2.9	+1.2	+4.1	+5.9	+0.7	+0.2	-2.3	-0.8	+0.2	+3.6	+.085	+3.9	+9.3	+.391	+2.6	+3.1
Fred VanVleet	11	39.1	19.6	0.5	3.9	4.4	6.9	1.6	0.6	2.0	2.5	6.9	17.3	.400	3.9	10.0	.391	1.9	2.3	.840


Season 5
	Magic Johnson	Fred VanVleet
Season	1983-84	2020-21
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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		%
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
difference:	+15	+1.8	+2.0	+0.9	+2.3	+3.1	+6.8	+0.5		-2.8	-0.2	+0.1	+5.1	+.176	+3.2	+8.8	+.159	+1.0	+1.6	+.075
Fred VanVleet	52	36.5	19.6	0.6	3.6	4.2	6.3	1.7	0.7	1.8	2.3	6.5	16.7	.389	3.3	9.2	.366	3.3	3.7	.885

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Fred VanVleet	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Magic Johnson	Fred VanVleet
Season	1984-85	2021-22
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Raptors Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
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
difference:	+12	+1.8	+2.0	+0.5	+1.2	+1.8	+5.9	+0.2	+0.2	-1.4	-0.5	+0.3	+5.2	+.158	+3.6	+9.4	+.188	+2.1	+2.6	+.031
Fred VanVleet	65	37.9	20.3	0.7	3.8	4.4	6.7	1.7	0.5	2.6	2.5	6.8	16.9	.403	3.7	9.9	.377	3.0	3.4	.874

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+15	+1.2	+3.7	+0.5	+3.6	+4.1	+8.9	+0.1	+0.8	-3.0	-0.5	+1.3	+1.6	+.161	+2.9	+8.6	+.190	+4.0	+4.7	+.014
Fred VanVleet	4	35.0	13.8	0.5	2.5	3.0	6.3	1.8	1.0	1.0	3.0	4.8	13.5	.352	3.0	9.0	.333	1.3	1.5	.833


Season 7
	Magic Johnson	Fred VanVleet
Season	1985-86	2022-23
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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		%
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
difference:	+3	+0.9	+0.5	+0.8	+1.1	+1.8	+5.4	+0.2	+0.4	-1.8	-1.0	+0.4	+3.3	+.133	+2.9	+8.2	+.109	+1.6	+1.9	+.027
Fred VanVleet	69	36.7	19.3	0.4	3.6	4.1	7.2	1.8	0.6	2.0	2.8	6.3	16.1	.393	3.0	8.8	.342	3.7	4.1	.898

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Fred VanVleet	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Magic Johnson	Fred VanVleet
Season	1986-87	2023-24
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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		%
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
difference:	+7	+0.5	+6.5	+1.0	+1.4	+2.5	+4.1	+0.3	+0.3	-2.1	-0.4	+2.7	+2.5	+.106	+3.0	+7.5	+.182	+4.0	+4.8	+.012
Fred VanVleet	73	36.8	17.4	0.5	3.4	3.8	8.1	1.4	0.8	1.7	2.5	5.8	13.9	.416	3.1	8.0	.387	2.7	3.1	.860

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Fred VanVleet	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Magic Johnson	Fred VanVleet
Season	1987-88	2024-25
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
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
difference:	+12	+1.4	+5.5	+0.7	+1.8	+2.5	+6.3		+0.2	-2.2	-0.3	+2.0	+1.1	+.114	+2.5	+6.9	+.149	+3.9	+4.5	+.043
Fred VanVleet	60	35.2	14.1	0.5	3.2	3.7	5.6	1.6	0.4	1.5	2.3	4.8	12.7	.378	2.7	7.7	.345	1.9	2.3	.810

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+17	+0.2	+1.2	+0.9	+0.4	+1.3	+8.2	+0.4	+0.1	-1.6	-0.2	+1.3	+0.4	+.084	+3.6	+8.3	+.065	+2.1	+3.1	+.148
Fred VanVleet	7	40.0	18.7	0.4	3.7	4.1	4.4	1.0	0.3	1.9	2.3	5.7	13.3	.430	3.9	8.9	.435	3.4	3.4	1.000


Additional Years
* Magic Johnson played 4 seasons more than Fred VanVleet in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 13, from 1989 to 1996—Magic Johnson played in 4 Playoffs. In those 4 extra years over Fred VanVleet, Magic Johnson got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 Season MVP 3 All-NBA First Team 3 All-Star Game 1 All-Star Game MVP

Magic Johnson vs. Fred VanVleet Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Fred VanVleet and Magic 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

Additional Years