Magic Johnson vs. Paul Silas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Paul Silas 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, 3 less than Paul Silas, who played 16. Magic Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Paul Silas had his rookie season in 1964-65. 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
Paul Silas	16	14	1964-65 to 1979-80

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


Rookie Season
	Magic Johnson	Paul Silas
Season	1979-80	1964-65
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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	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
Paul Silas	79	15.7	4.6	-	-	7.3	0.6	-	-	-	2.0	1.8	4.7	.373	-	-	-	1.1	2.1	.506

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
Paul Silas	4	10.5	2.8	-	-	4.5	0.3	-	-	-	1.5	1.0	2.5	.400	-	-	-	0.8	1.0	.750


Season 2
	Magic Johnson	Paul Silas
Season	1980-81	1965-66
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	Steals Leader	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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	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
Paul Silas	46	12.7	3.8	-	-	5.1	0.5	-	-	-	1.6	1.5	3.8	.405	-	-	-	0.8	1.3	.574

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
Paul Silas	7	11.4	2.6	-	-	4.9	0.3	-	-	-	1.6	0.7	2.6	.278	-	-	-	1.1	1.6	.727


Season 3
	Magic Johnson	Paul Silas
Season	1981-82	1966-67
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Steals Leader	-
	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
Paul Silas	77	20.4	6.8	-	-	8.7	1.0	-	-	-	2.7	2.7	6.3	.429	-	-	-	1.5	2.8	.531

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
Paul Silas	8	15.3	3.6	-	-	6.5	0.8	-	-	-	2.1	1.1	4.5	.250	-	-	-	1.4	2.3	.611


Season 4
	Magic Johnson	Paul Silas
Season	1982-83	1967-68
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	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	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
Paul Silas	82	32.3	13.4	-	-	11.7	2.0	-	-	-	3.0	4.9	10.6	.458	-	-	-	3.6	5.2	.705

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
Paul Silas	6	29.7	11.8	-	-	9.5	3.5	-	-	-	2.8	3.7	8.5	.431	-	-	-	4.5	6.3	.711


Season 5
	Magic Johnson	Paul Silas
Season	1983-84	1968-69
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	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	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
Paul Silas	79	23.5	8.7	-	-	9.4	1.8	-	-	-	2.1	3.1	7.3	.419	-	-	-	2.6	4.2	.613

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
Paul Silas	11	23.5	5.5	-	-	8.4	1.9	-	-	-	2.9	1.9	5.3	.362	-	-	-	1.7	3.4	.514


Season 6
	Magic Johnson	Paul Silas
Season	1984-85	1969-70
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Suns 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	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
Paul Silas	78	36.4	12.8	-	-	11.7	2.7	-	-	-	3.4	4.8	10.3	.464	-	-	-	3.2	5.3	.607

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
Paul Silas	7	40.9	16.1	-	-	15.9	4.3	-	-	-	4.1	6.6	15.6	.422	-	-	-	3.0	4.6	.656


Season 7
	Magic Johnson	Paul Silas
Season	1985-86	1970-71
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 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	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
Paul Silas	81	36.3	11.9	-	-	12.5	3.0	-	-	-	2.8	4.2	9.7	.428	-	-	-	3.5	5.1	.685

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
Paul Silas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Magic Johnson	Paul Silas
Season	1986-87	1971-72
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	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	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
Paul Silas	80	38.5	17.5	-	-	11.9	4.3	-	-	-	2.5	6.1	12.9	.470	-	-	-	5.4	7.0	.773

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
Paul Silas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Magic Johnson	Paul Silas
Season	1987-88	1972-73
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics Lost East 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	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
Paul Silas	80	32.7	13.3	-	-	13.0	3.1	-	-	-	2.5	5.0	10.6	.470	-	-	-	3.3	4.8	.700

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
Paul Silas	13	39.4	9.6	-	-	15.1	3.0	-	-	-	3.0	3.6	9.2	.392	-	-	-	2.4	3.8	.620


Season 10
	Magic Johnson	Paul Silas
Season	1988-89	1973-74
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

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
Paul Silas	82	31.7	11.5	4.1	7.1	11.2	2.3	0.8	0.2	-	3.0	4.1	9.4	.440	-	-	-	3.2	4.1	.783

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
Paul Silas	18	31.9	8.0	2.9	7.7	10.6	2.6	0.7	0.5	-	2.8	2.8	7.0	.397	-	-	-	2.4	2.9	.830


Season 11
	Magic Johnson	Paul Silas
Season	1989-90	1974-75
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East 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	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
Paul Silas	82	32.5	10.6	4.2	8.3	12.5	2.7	0.7	0.3	-	2.8	3.8	9.1	.417	-	-	-	3.0	4.2	.709

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
Paul Silas	11	36.8	9.1	4.2	7.6	11.8	3.6	1.1	0.2	-	4.1	3.8	8.4	.457	-	-	-	1.5	2.3	.640


Season 12
	Magic Johnson	Paul Silas
Season	1990-91	1975-76
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

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
Paul Silas	81	32.9	10.7	4.5	8.1	12.7	2.5	0.7	0.4	-	2.8	3.9	9.1	.426	-	-	-	2.9	4.1	.709

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
Paul Silas	18	41.2	10.8	4.3	9.3	13.7	2.3	1.3	0.3	-	3.7	3.8	8.6	.448	-	-	-	3.1	3.8	.812

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


Season 13
	Magic Johnson	Paul Silas
Season	1995-96	1976-77
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets 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	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
Paul Silas	81	24.2	7.2	2.9	4.6	7.5	1.6	0.7	0.3	-	2.3	2.5	7.1	.360	-	-	-	2.1	3.1	.667

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
Paul Silas	6	23.5	6.8	2.7	4.0	6.7	2.7	0.3	0.7	-	3.8	2.3	5.5	.424	-	-	-	2.2	4.0	.542


Season 14
	Magic Johnson	Paul Silas
Season	-	1977-78
Team	-	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Supersonics 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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Silas	82	26.5	5.8	3.5	4.6	8.1	1.8	0.8	0.2	1.9	2.2	2.2	5.7	.397	-	-	-	1.3	2.3	.586

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Silas	22	27.5	4.9	3.3	5.2	8.5	1.6	0.5	0.3	1.4	2.7	1.5	4.3	.351	-	-	-	1.9	2.7	.683


Season 15
	Magic Johnson	Paul Silas
Season	-	1978-79
Team	-	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Silas	82	23.9	5.6	3.2	3.9	7.0	1.4	0.4	0.2	1.2	2.2	2.1	4.9	.423	-	-	-	1.4	2.4	.598

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Silas	17	24.6	4.3	2.4	3.4	5.8	1.1	0.5	0.3	2.0	2.6	1.2	3.2	.389	-	-	-	1.8	2.7	.674


Season 16
	Magic Johnson	Paul Silas
Season	-	1979-80
Team	-	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Supersonics 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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Silas	82	19.5	3.8	2.5	2.8	5.3	0.8	0.3	0.1	1.0	1.5	1.4	3.6	.378	0.0	0.0	-	1.1	1.7	.654

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Silas	15	17.1	2.5	2.2	2.8	5.0	1.0	0.6	0.1	0.6	1.9	0.9	2.9	.302	0.0	0.0	-	0.7	0.9	.846

Magic Johnson vs. Paul Silas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Paul Silas 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