Magic Johnson vs. Wes Unseld Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Wes Unseld 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 and Wes Unseld both played 13 years in the NBA. Magic Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Wes Unseld had his rookie season in 1968-69. 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
Wes Unseld	13	12	1968-69 to 1980-81

Comparison Season by Season
Rookie Season
	Magic Johnson	Wes Unseld
Season	1979-80	1968-69
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Baltimore Bullets
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rookie of the Year
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bullets Lost East 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
Wes Unseld	82	36.2	13.8	-	-	18.2	2.6	-	-	-	3.4	5.2	10.9	.476	-	-	-	3.4	5.6	.605

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
Wes Unseld	4	41.3	18.8	-	-	18.5	1.3	-	-	-	3.5	7.5	14.3	.526	-	-	-	3.8	4.8	.789

Season 2
	Magic Johnson	Wes Unseld
Season	1980-81	1969-70
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Baltimore Bullets
Honors & Awards	Steals Leader	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Bullets Lost East 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	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
Wes Unseld	82	39.4	16.2	-	-	16.7	3.5	-	-	-	3.0	6.4	12.4	.518	-	-	-	3.3	5.2	.638

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
Wes Unseld	7	41.3	10.4	-	-	23.6	3.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.1	10.0	.414	-	-	-	2.1	2.7	.789

Season 3
	Magic Johnson	Wes Unseld
Season	1981-82	1970-71
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Baltimore Bullets
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bullets 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	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
Wes Unseld	74	39.2	14.1	-	-	16.9	4.0	-	-	-	3.2	5.7	11.4	.501	-	-	-	2.7	4.1	.657

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
Wes Unseld	18	42.2	13.2	-	-	18.8	3.8	-	-	-	3.3	5.3	11.6	.462	-	-	-	2.6	4.5	.568

Season 4
	Magic Johnson	Wes Unseld
Season	1982-83	1971-72
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Baltimore Bullets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Bullets Lost East 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	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
Wes Unseld	76	41.7	13.0	-	-	17.6	3.7	-	-	-	2.9	5.4	10.8	.498	-	-	-	2.3	3.6	.629

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
Wes Unseld	6	44.3	12.3	-	-	12.5	4.2	-	-	-	3.7	5.3	10.8	.492	-	-	-	1.7	3.2	.526

Season 5
	Magic Johnson	Wes Unseld
Season	1983-84	1972-73
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Baltimore Bullets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Bullets Lost East 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	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
Wes Unseld	79	39.1	12.5	-	-	15.9	4.4	-	-	-	2.1	5.3	10.8	.493	-	-	-	1.9	2.7	.703

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
Wes Unseld	5	40.2	9.8	-	-	15.2	3.4	-	-	-	2.4	4.0	9.6	.417	-	-	-	1.8	3.8	.474

Season 6
	Magic Johnson	Wes Unseld
Season	1984-85	1973-74
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Capital Bullets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bullets Lost East 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	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
Wes Unseld	56	30.8	5.9	2.7	6.5	9.2	2.8	1.0	0.3	-	2.2	2.6	5.9	.438	-	-	-	0.6	1.0	.655

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
Wes Unseld	7	42.4	10.1	3.1	9.0	12.1	3.9	0.6	0.1	-	2.1	4.4	9.0	.492	-	-	-	1.3	2.1	.600

Season 7
	Magic Johnson	Wes Unseld
Season	1985-86	1974-75
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Bullets 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	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
Wes Unseld	73	39.8	9.2	4.4	10.4	14.8	4.1	1.6	0.9	-	2.5	3.7	7.5	.502	-	-	-	1.7	2.5	.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
Wes Unseld	17	43.2	10.7	3.8	12.4	16.2	3.8	0.9	1.2	-	2.3	4.2	7.6	.546	-	-	-	2.4	3.6	.656

Season 8
	Magic Johnson	Wes Unseld
Season	1986-87	1975-76
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bullets 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	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
Wes Unseld	78	37.5	9.6	3.5	9.8	13.3	5.2	1.1	0.8	-	2.6	4.1	7.3	.561	-	-	-	1.5	2.5	.585

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
Wes Unseld	7	44.3	7.0	3.7	8.4	12.1	4.0	0.9	0.6	-	2.7	2.6	5.6	.462	-	-	-	1.9	3.4	.542

Season 9
	Magic Johnson	Wes Unseld
Season	1987-88	1976-77
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bullets 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	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
Wes Unseld	82	34.9	7.8	3.0	7.7	10.7	4.4	1.1	0.5	-	3.1	3.3	6.7	.490	-	-	-	1.2	2.0	.602

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
Wes Unseld	9	40.9	7.4	2.7	9.0	11.7	4.9	0.9	0.7	-	3.6	3.3	6.0	.556	-	-	-	0.8	1.3	.583

Season 10
	Magic Johnson	Wes Unseld
Season	1988-89	1977-78
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	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
Wes Unseld	80	33.1	7.6	3.6	8.4	11.9	4.1	1.2	0.6	2.2	2.9	3.2	6.1	.523	-	-	-	1.2	2.2	.538

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
Wes Unseld	18	37.6	9.4	4.0	8.0	12.0	4.4	0.9	0.4	2.0	3.4	3.9	7.4	.530	-	-	-	1.5	2.6	.587

Season 11
	Magic Johnson	Wes Unseld
Season	1989-90	1978-79
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Bullets 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	37.2	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
Wes Unseld	77	31.2	10.9	3.6	7.2	10.8	4.1	0.9	0.5	2.0	2.6	4.5	7.8	.577	-	-	-	2.0	3.1	.643

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
Wes Unseld	19	38.7	10.3	4.7	8.6	13.3	3.4	0.9	0.7	1.6	3.5	4.1	8.3	.494	-	-	-	2.1	3.4	.609

Season 12
	Magic Johnson	Wes Unseld
Season	1990-91	1979-80
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Bullets Lost East 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	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
Wes Unseld	82	36.3	9.7	4.1	9.3	13.3	4.5	0.8	0.7	1.9	3.0	4.0	7.8	.513	0.0	0.0	.500	1.7	2.5	.665

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
Wes Unseld	2	43.5	9.0	3.5	10.5	14.0	3.5	0.0	1.5	1.5	2.5	3.5	7.0	.500	0.0	0.5	.000	2.0	3.0	.667

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

Season 13
	Magic Johnson	Wes Unseld
Season	1995-96	1980-81
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards
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
Wes Unseld	63	32.3	8.0	3.3	7.4	10.7	2.7	0.8	0.6	1.5	2.7	3.6	6.8	.524	0.0	0.1	.500	0.9	1.4	.640

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
Wes Unseld	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Magic Johnson vs. Wes Unseld Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Wes Unseld 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