Magic Johnson vs. Jerome Whitehead Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jerome Whitehead 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 / 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.

Magic Johnson played 13 years in the NBA, 2 more than Jerome Whitehead, who played 11. Magic Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Jerome Whitehead had his rookie season in 1978-79. 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
Magic Johnson	13	13	1979-80 to 1995-96
Jerome Whitehead	11	1	1978-79 to 1988-89

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


Rookie Season
	Magic Johnson	Jerome Whitehead
Season	1979-80	1978-79
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	San Diego Clippers
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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
Jerome Whitehead	31	4.9	1.2	0.5	1.1	1.6	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.4	0.9	0.5	1.1	.441	-	-	-	0.3	0.6	.444

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
Jerome Whitehead	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Magic Johnson	Jerome Whitehead
Season	1980-81	1979-80
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	San Diego Clippers, Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	Steals Leader	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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
Jerome Whitehead	50	11.1	2.5	1.1	2.2	3.3	0.5	0.2	0.3	0.7	1.9	1.2	2.3	.509	0.0	0.0	-	0.2	0.7	.286

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
Jerome Whitehead	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Magic Johnson	Jerome Whitehead
Season	1981-82	1980-81
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Dallas Mavericks, Cleveland Cavaliers, San Diego Clippers
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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
Jerome Whitehead	48	14.3	4.0	1.2	3.3	4.5	0.5	0.4	0.2	1.2	2.5	1.7	3.8	.461	0.0	0.0	.000	0.6	1.2	.500

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
Jerome Whitehead	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Magic Johnson	Jerome Whitehead
Season	1982-83	1981-82
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	San Diego Clippers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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
Jerome Whitehead	72	30.8	13.8	3.2	6.0	9.2	1.4	0.7	0.6	2.0	4.0	5.6	10.1	.559	0.0	0.0	-	2.6	3.3	.763

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
Jerome Whitehead	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Magic Johnson	Jerome Whitehead
Season	1983-84	1982-83
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	San Diego Clippers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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
Jerome Whitehead	46	19.7	8.7	2.3	3.4	5.7	0.9	0.5	0.3	1.4	3.0	3.6	6.7	.536	0.0	0.0	-	1.6	1.9	.828

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
Jerome Whitehead	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Magic Johnson	Jerome Whitehead
Season	1984-85	1983-84
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	San Diego Clippers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

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
Jerome Whitehead	70	13.2	5.4	1.3	2.2	3.5	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.8	2.3	2.1	4.2	.490	0.0	0.0	-	1.3	1.5	.822

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
Jerome Whitehead	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Magic Johnson	Jerome Whitehead
Season	1985-86	1984-85
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

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
Jerome Whitehead	79	32.1	13.0	2.8	5.1	7.9	0.7	0.6	0.5	1.8	4.1	5.3	10.4	.510	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	3.0	.783

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
Jerome Whitehead	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Magic Johnson	Jerome Whitehead
Season	1986-87	1985-86
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

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
Jerome Whitehead	81	13.3	3.9	1.2	2.9	4.0	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.8	2.2	1.6	3.6	.429	0.0	0.0	-	0.7	1.2	.619

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
Jerome Whitehead	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Magic Johnson	Jerome Whitehead
Season	1987-88	1986-87
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Warriors 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		%
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
Jerome Whitehead	73	12.8	5.1	1.5	2.1	3.6	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.7	2.4	2.0	4.5	.450	0.0	0.0	.000	1.1	1.5	.699

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
Jerome Whitehead	10	10.0	2.2	0.5	0.9	1.4	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.1	2.2	0.9	2.7	.333	0.0	0.0	-	0.4	1.0	.400


Season 10
	Magic Johnson	Jerome Whitehead
Season	1988-89	1987-88
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Jerome Whitehead	72	17.0	5.7	1.5	2.9	4.5	0.5	0.4	0.3	0.7	2.9	2.4	5.0	.483	0.0	0.0	-	0.8	1.1	.720

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


Season 11
	Magic Johnson	Jerome Whitehead
Season	1989-90	1988-89
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Jerome Whitehead	57	10.9	3.1	0.9	1.5	2.4	0.3	0.4	0.1	0.4	2.0	1.3	3.2	.396	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	0.8	.660

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


Season 12
	Magic Johnson	Jerome Whitehead
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		%
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
Jerome Whitehead	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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

Note: Magic Johnson didn't play in 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94 and 1994-95.


Season 13
	Magic Johnson	Jerome Whitehead
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		%
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
Jerome Whitehead	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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

Magic Johnson vs. Jerome Whitehead Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jerome Whitehead 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

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13