Magic Johnson vs. Lenny Wilkens Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Lenny Wilkens 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

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 less than Lenny Wilkens, who played 15. Magic Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Lenny Wilkens had his rookie season in 1960-61. 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
Lenny Wilkens	15	7	1960-61 to 1974-75

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


Rookie Season
	Magic Johnson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1979-80	1960-61
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks 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		%
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
Lenny Wilkens	75	25.3	11.7	-	-	4.5	2.8	-	-	-	2.9	4.4	10.4	.425	-	-	-	2.9	4.0	.713

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
Lenny Wilkens	12	36.4	14.2	-	-	6.0	3.5	-	-	-	4.3	5.3	13.8	.380	-	-	-	3.7	4.8	.759


Season 2
	Magic Johnson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1980-81	1961-62
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
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
Lenny Wilkens	20	43.5	18.2	-	-	6.6	5.8	-	-	-	3.2	7.0	18.2	.385	-	-	-	4.2	5.5	.764

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
Lenny Wilkens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Magic Johnson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1981-82	1962-63
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost West Div 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		%
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
Lenny Wilkens	75	34.3	11.8	-	-	5.4	5.1	-	-	-	3.4	4.4	11.1	.399	-	-	-	3.0	4.3	.696

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
Lenny Wilkens	11	36.4	13.7	-	-	6.3	6.3	-	-	-	4.6	5.2	14.0	.370	-	-	-	3.4	4.5	.755


Season 4
	Magic Johnson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1982-83	1963-64
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Hawks Lost West Div 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		%
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
Lenny Wilkens	78	32.4	12.0	-	-	4.3	4.6	-	-	-	3.7	4.3	10.4	.413	-	-	-	3.5	4.7	.740

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
Lenny Wilkens	12	34.4	14.3	-	-	5.0	5.3	-	-	-	3.5	5.3	11.9	.448	-	-	-	3.7	4.8	.759


Season 5
	Magic Johnson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1983-84	1964-65
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Hawks Lost West Div 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		%
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
Lenny Wilkens	78	36.6	16.5	-	-	4.7	5.5	-	-	-	3.6	5.6	13.4	.414	-	-	-	5.3	7.2	.746

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
Lenny Wilkens	4	36.8	16.0	-	-	3.0	3.8	-	-	-	3.5	5.0	14.3	.351	-	-	-	6.0	7.3	.828


Season 6
	Magic Johnson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1984-85	1965-66
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost West Div 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		%
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
Lenny Wilkens	69	39.0	18.0	-	-	4.7	6.2	-	-	-	3.6	6.0	13.8	.431	-	-	-	6.1	7.7	.793

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
Lenny Wilkens	10	39.1	17.1	-	-	5.4	7.0	-	-	-	4.3	5.7	14.3	.399	-	-	-	5.7	8.3	.687


Season 7
	Magic Johnson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1985-86	1966-67
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Hawks Lost West Div Finals

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
Lenny Wilkens	78	38.1	17.4	-	-	5.3	5.7	-	-	-	3.6	5.7	13.3	.432	-	-	-	5.9	7.5	.787

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
Lenny Wilkens	9	42.0	21.4	-	-	7.6	7.2	-	-	-	3.8	6.4	16.1	.400	-	-	-	8.6	10.0	.856


Season 8
	Magic Johnson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1986-87	1967-68
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost West Div Semis

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
Lenny Wilkens	82	38.6	20.0	-	-	5.3	8.3	-	-	-	3.1	6.7	15.2	.438	-	-	-	6.7	8.7	.768

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
Lenny Wilkens	6	39.5	18.3	-	-	6.3	7.8	-	-	-	3.8	6.7	15.2	.440	-	-	-	5.0	6.7	.750


Season 9
	Magic Johnson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1987-88	1968-69
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	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	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
Lenny Wilkens	82	42.2	22.4	-	-	6.2	8.2	-	-	-	3.6	7.9	17.8	.440	-	-	-	6.7	8.7	.770

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
Lenny Wilkens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Magic Johnson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1988-89	1969-70
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	Assists Leader
	All-Star Game	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
Lenny Wilkens	75	37.4	17.8	-	-	5.0	9.1	-	-	-	2.8	6.0	14.2	.420	-	-	-	5.8	7.4	.788

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
Lenny Wilkens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Magic Johnson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1989-90	1970-71
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game NVP	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
Lenny Wilkens	71	37.2	19.8	-	-	4.5	9.2	-	-	-	2.8	6.6	15.8	.419	-	-	-	6.5	8.1	.803

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
Lenny Wilkens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Magic Johnson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1990-91	1971-72
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	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	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
Lenny Wilkens	80	37.4	18.0	-	-	4.2	9.6	-	-	-	2.6	6.0	12.8	.466	-	-	-	6.0	7.8	.774

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
Lenny Wilkens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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


Season 13
	Magic Johnson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1995-96	1972-73
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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	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
Lenny Wilkens	75	39.6	20.5	-	-	4.6	8.4	-	-	-	2.9	7.6	17.0	.449	-	-	-	5.3	6.3	.828

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
Lenny Wilkens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 14
	Magic Johnson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	-	1973-74
Team	-	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
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		%
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lenny Wilkens	74	33.6	16.4	1.1	2.7	3.7	7.1	1.3	0.2	-	2.2	6.2	13.4	.465	-	-	-	3.9	4.9	.801

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lenny Wilkens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 15
	Magic Johnson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	-	1974-75
Team	-	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
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		%
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lenny Wilkens	65	17.9	6.5	0.6	1.3	1.8	3.6	1.2	0.1	-	1.5	2.1	4.7	.439	-	-	-	2.3	3.0	.768

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lenny Wilkens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Magic Johnson vs. Lenny Wilkens Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Lenny Wilkens 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

Season 14

Season 15