Magic Johnson vs. Nene Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nene 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, 4 less than Nene, who played 17. Magic Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Nene had his rookie season in 2002-03. 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
Nene	17	12	2002-03 to 2018-19

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17


Rookie Season
	Magic Johnson	Nene
Season	1979-80	2002-03
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-Rookie First Team	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
Nene	80	28.2	10.5	2.6	3.5	6.1	1.9	1.6	0.8	2.3	3.7	4.0	7.7	.519	0.0	0.0	.000	2.5	4.3	.578

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
Nene	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Magic Johnson	Nene
Season	1980-81	2003-04
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	Steals Leader	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets Lost West 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		%
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
Nene	77	32.5	11.8	2.0	4.5	6.5	2.2	1.5	0.5	2.4	3.6	4.3	8.2	.530	0.0	0.0	.000	3.1	4.6	.682

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
Nene	5	26.6	7.8	2.4	2.6	5.0	3.0	1.0	0.6	1.8	4.4	3.2	7.2	.444	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	2.6	.538


Season 3
	Magic Johnson	Nene
Season	1981-82	2004-05
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nuggets Lost West 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		%
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
Nene	55	23.9	9.6	1.9	4.0	5.9	1.5	0.9	0.9	1.7	3.0	3.5	7.0	.503	0.0	0.0	.000	2.5	3.9	.660

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
Nene	5	20.0	6.6	1.8	3.2	5.0	0.4	0.4	0.4	1.0	3.2	1.8	4.2	.429	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	4.6	.652


Season 4
	Magic Johnson	Nene
Season	1982-83	2005-06
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
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
Nene	1	3.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	1.0	0.0	1.0	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-

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
Nene	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Magic Johnson	Nene
Season	1983-84	2006-07
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Nuggets Lost West 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		%
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
Nene	64	26.8	12.2	2.3	4.7	7.0	1.2	1.0	0.9	2.0	3.3	4.6	8.1	.570	0.0	0.0	.000	3.0	4.4	.689

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
Nene	5	35.8	15.2	4.4	3.4	7.8	2.4	0.6	0.6	2.6	4.2	6.2	10.6	.585	0.0	0.0	-	2.8	3.6	.778


Season 6
	Magic Johnson	Nene
Season	1984-85	2007-08
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nuggets Lost West 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		%
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
Nene	16	16.6	5.3	1.9	3.6	5.4	0.9	0.6	0.9	1.3	2.9	1.8	4.4	.408	0.0	0.1	.000	1.7	3.1	.551

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
Nene	3	10.0	4.3	1.0	1.3	2.3	0.3	0.7	0.3	0.7	2.7	1.7	3.0	.556	0.0	0.0	-	1.0	1.0	1.000


Season 7
	Magic Johnson	Nene
Season	1985-86	2008-09
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Nuggets Lost West Conf 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
Nene	77	32.6	14.6	2.4	5.4	7.8	1.4	1.2	1.3	1.9	3.6	5.6	9.2	.604	0.0	0.1	.200	3.5	4.8	.723

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
Nene	16	32.8	11.5	2.3	5.2	7.5	2.6	1.3	0.6	1.9	4.1	4.3	7.9	.548	0.0	0.0	-	2.9	4.4	.657


Season 8
	Magic Johnson	Nene
Season	1986-87	2009-10
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nuggets 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	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
Nene	82	33.6	13.8	2.0	5.6	7.6	2.5	1.4	1.0	1.5	3.4	5.1	8.7	.587	0.0	0.0	.000	3.6	5.1	.704

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
Nene	5	33.8	11.4	1.6	4.2	5.8	2.2	1.2	0.2	0.8	3.4	3.6	5.8	.621	0.0	0.0	-	4.2	7.2	.583


Season 9
	Magic Johnson	Nene
Season	1987-88	2010-11
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nuggets 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	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
Nene	75	30.5	14.5	1.9	5.7	7.6	2.0	1.1	1.0	1.8	3.2	5.4	8.7	.615	0.0	0.1	.200	3.8	5.4	.711

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
Nene	5	32.4	14.2	2.8	6.2	9.0	1.6	1.0	0.8	1.6	3.4	4.4	9.2	.478	0.0	0.0	-	5.4	9.6	.563


Season 10
	Magic Johnson	Nene
Season	1988-89	2011-12
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets, Washington Wizards
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
Nene	39	28.5	13.7	1.6	5.8	7.5	2.1	1.1	1.0	2.5	2.4	5.4	10.1	.537	0.0	0.1	.000	2.9	4.3	.673

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
Nene	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Magic Johnson	Nene
Season	1989-90	2012-13
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington Wizards
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
Nene	61	27.2	12.6	1.7	5.0	6.7	2.9	0.9	0.6	2.3	2.8	4.7	9.7	.480	0.0	0.0	.000	3.2	4.4	.729

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
Nene	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Magic Johnson	Nene
Season	1990-91	2013-14
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Wizards Lost East 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	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
Nene	53	29.4	14.2	1.2	4.3	5.5	2.9	1.2	0.9	2.2	3.1	5.6	11.2	.503	0.0	0.1	.200	2.9	5.0	.583

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
Nene	10	32.5	13.7	0.8	4.5	5.3	2.6	0.9	1.1	1.7	3.6	6.4	13.8	.464	0.0	0.0	-	0.9	2.6	.346

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


Season 13
	Magic Johnson	Nene
Season	1995-96	2014-15
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Wizards Lost East 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	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
Nene	67	25.3	11.0	1.3	3.9	5.1	1.8	1.0	0.3	1.9	2.7	4.6	9.0	.511	0.0	0.1	.200	1.8	3.0	.604

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
Nene	10	25.7	7.9	2.5	4.1	6.6	1.5	0.9	0.3	1.4	3.2	3.4	7.6	.447	0.0	0.0	-	1.1	2.3	.478


Season 14
	Magic Johnson	Nene
Season	-	2015-16
Team	-	Washington Wizards
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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nene	57	19.2	9.2	0.9	3.6	4.5	1.7	0.9	0.5	1.3	2.7	3.7	6.7	.544	0.0	0.1	.000	1.9	3.2	.578

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


Season 15
	Magic Johnson	Nene
Season	-	2016-17
Team	-	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Rockets 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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nene	67	17.9	9.1	1.4	2.8	4.2	1.0	0.8	0.6	1.1	2.4	3.7	5.9	.617	0.0	0.1	.333	1.7	2.9	.589

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nene	9	17.9	10.0	1.2	3.4	4.7	0.6	0.7	0.4	1.0	2.7	4.0	5.7	.706	0.0	0.1	.000	2.0	3.4	.581


Season 16
	Magic Johnson	Nene
Season	-	2017-18
Team	-	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nene	52	14.6	6.5	1.0	2.3	3.4	0.9	0.5	0.3	0.7	2.4	2.6	4.6	.569	0.0	0.0	.000	1.3	2.1	.636

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nene	11	9.7	2.8	0.5	2.0	2.5	0.5	0.2	0.5	0.7	1.6	1.1	1.8	.600	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.0	.636


Season 17
	Magic Johnson	Nene
Season	-	2018-19
Team	-	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Rockets Lost West 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		%
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nene	42	13.0	3.6	0.8	2.1	2.9	0.6	0.4	0.4	0.3	2.1	1.4	2.8	.517	0.0	0.1	.000	0.7	1.1	.660

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nene	7	7.6	3.9	1.3	0.7	2.0	0.4	0.4	0.3	0.4	1.0	1.4	1.4	1.000	0.0	0.0	-	1.0	1.3	.778

Magic Johnson vs. Nene Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nene 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

Season 16

Season 17