Al Horford vs. Magic Johnson: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Magic Johnson and Al Horford to determine who has the better numbers. Here you can compare their career totals, points per game, games of 40+ points, 50+, etc. and their year-by-year scoring averages side by side, both in the Regular Season and Playoffs.

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Magic Johnson has better scoring stats than Al Horford in averages and totals, both in the regular season and Playoffs. However, we won't stop there and we'll go into detail to analyze what these statistics are made up of, from how many games they had in each threshold (30+ points, 40+, 50+, etc.) to their season-by-season scoring averages.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points by Thresholds

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

= NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	10.1		2008	81
Magic Johnson	18.0	+7.9	1980	77

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	11.5		2009	67
Magic Johnson	21.6	+10.1	1981	37

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	14.2		2010	81
Magic Johnson	18.6	+4.4	1982	78

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	15.3		2011	77
Magic Johnson	16.8	+1.5	1983	79

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	12.4		2012	11
Magic Johnson	17.6	+5.2	1984	67

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	17.4		2013	74
Magic Johnson	18.3	+0.9	1985	77

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	18.6		2014	29
Magic Johnson	18.8	+0.2	1986	72

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	15.2		2015	76
Magic Johnson	23.9	+8.7	1987	80

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	15.2		2016	82
Magic Johnson	19.6	+4.4	1988	72

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	14.0		2017	68
Magic Johnson	22.5	+8.5	1989	77

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	12.9		2018	72
Magic Johnson	22.3	+9.4	1990	79

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	13.6		2019	68
Magic Johnson	19.4	+5.8	1991	79

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	11.9		2020	67
Magic Johnson	14.6	+2.7	1996	32

Al Horford's additional seasons:

* Al Horford played 6 seasons more than Magic Johnson in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 14 to 19, from 2021 to 2026—he averaged 9.7 points in a total of 297 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 14.2 ppg and his lowest 5.8.

Playoffs

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	12.6		2008	7
Magic Johnson	18.3	+5.7	1980	16

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	6.9		2009	9
Magic Johnson	17.0	+10.1	1981	3

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	14.6		2010	11
Magic Johnson	17.4	+2.8	1982	14

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	11.3		2011	12
Magic Johnson	17.9	+6.6	1983	15

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	15.3		2012	3
Magic Johnson	18.2	+2.9	1984	21

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	16.7		2013	6
Magic Johnson	17.5	+0.8	1985	19

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	-	DNP	2014	0
Magic Johnson	21.6	+21.6	1986	14

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	14.4		2015	16
Magic Johnson	21.8	+7.4	1987	18

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	13.4		2016	10
Magic Johnson	19.9	+6.5	1988	24

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	15.1		2017	18
Magic Johnson	18.4	+3.3	1989	14

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	15.7		2018	19
Magic Johnson	25.2	+9.5	1990	9

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	13.9		2019	9
Magic Johnson	21.8	+7.9	1991	19

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Al Horford	7.0		2020	4
Magic Johnson	15.3	+8.3	1996	4

Al Horford's additional Playoffs:

* During his 6 additional NBA seasons, Al Horford played in 4 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 9.2 points in a total of 73 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 12 ppg and his lowest 6.7.