Anthony Edwards vs. Magic Johnson: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Magic Johnson and Anthony Edwards 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings

Anthony Edwards has one of the highest career point averages in NBA history, and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Magic Johnson.

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Anthony Edwards has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Magic Johnson scored more total points in both stages. 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.

On this page we compare:

Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers
Games of 30+ points, 40+, 50+, etc
Shooting Stats
Points Year by Year

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 6 NBA regular seasons played, Anthony Edwards averages 4.7 points more than Magic Johnson in his 13 seasons (24.2 points against 19.5). On the other hand Magic Johnson scored a total of 7,949 points more than Anthony Edwards (17,707 vs. 9,758).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Anthony Edwards 24.2
+4.7
6
Magic Johnson 19.5
13

Total Points

Seasons
Anthony Edwards 9,758
6
Magic Johnson 17,707
+7,949
13

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Anthony Edwards has a better career point average than Magic Johnson (+7.4 points per game) while Magic Johnson scored more points (+2,571).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Anthony Edwards 26.9
+7.4
4
Magic Johnson 19.5
13

Total Points

Playoffs
Anthony Edwards 1,130
4
Magic Johnson 3,701
+2,571
13

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

50+ Point Games

Anthony Edwards 2
+2
Magic Johnson 0

40+ Point Games

Anthony Edwards 24
+18
Magic Johnson 6

30+ Point Games

Anthony Edwards 105
+12
Magic Johnson 93

20+ Point Games

Anthony Edwards 272
Magic Johnson 447
+175

10+ Point Games

Anthony Edwards 372
Magic Johnson 825
+453

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Anthony Edwards 402
Magic Johnson 903
+501

0 Point Games (games without points)

Anthony Edwards 2
Magic Johnson 3
+1

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

Anthony Edwards 5
+1
Magic Johnson 4

30+ Point Games

Anthony Edwards 15
+3
Magic Johnson 12

20+ Point Games

Anthony Edwards 31
Magic Johnson 83
+52

10+ Point Games

Anthony Edwards 42
Magic Johnson 182
+140

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Anthony Edwards 42
Magic Johnson 189
+147

0 Point Games (games without points)

Anthony Edwards 0
Magic Johnson 1
+1

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

more >>

Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Anthony Edwards 24.2 8.5 18.9 44.9 2.9 8.0 36.7 4.3 5.3 80.5 6 404
difference:+4.7+1.6+5.7+7.1+2.5+6.8+6.4+1.2+1.2+4.3+7+502
Magic Johnson 19.5 6.9 13.2 52.0 0.4 1.2 30.3 5.5 6.5 84.8 13 906

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Anthony Edwards 9,758 3,424 7,624 44.9 1,185 3,231 36.7 1,725 2,144 80.5 6 404
difference:+7,949+2,787+4,327+7.1+860+2,157+6.4+3,235+3,706+4.3+7+502
Magic Johnson 17,707 6,211 11,951 52.0 325 1,074 30.3 4,960 5,850 84.8 13 906

Playoffs

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Anthony Edwards 26.9 9.4 20.1 46.8 3.1 8.2 37.7 5.0 6.3 78.8 4 42
difference:+7.4+2.6+6.7+3.8+2.8+7.1+13.6+0.6+0.4+5.0+9+148
Magic Johnson 19.5 6.8 13.4 50.6 0.3 1.1 24.1 5.6 6.7 83.8 13 190

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Anthony Edwards 1,130 396 846 46.8 130 345 37.7 208 264 78.8 4 42
difference:+2,571+895+1,706+3.8+79+133+13.6+860+1,010+5.0+9+148
Magic Johnson 3,701 1,291 2,552 50.6 51 212 24.1 1,068 1,274 83.8 13 190

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Anthony Edwards 19.3
+1.3
202172
Magic Johnson 18.0
1980NBA Champion77

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Anthony Edwards 21.3
202272
Magic Johnson 21.6
+0.3
198137

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Anthony Edwards 24.6
+6.0
202379
Magic Johnson 18.6
1982NBA Champion78

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Anthony Edwards 25.9
+9.1
202479
Magic Johnson 16.8
198379

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Anthony Edwards 27.6
+10.0
202579
Magic Johnson 17.6
198467

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Anthony Edwards 28.7
+10.4
202623
Magic Johnson 18.3
1985NBA Champion77

Magic Johnson's additional seasons:

* Magic Johnson played 7 seasons more than Anthony Edwards in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 7 to 13, from 1986 to 1996—he averaged 20.7 points in a total of 491 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 23.9 ppg and his lowest 14.6.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Anthony Edwards -
DNP
20210
Magic Johnson 18.3
+18.3
1980NBA Champion16

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Anthony Edwards 25.2
+8.2
20226
Magic Johnson 17.0
19813

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Anthony Edwards 31.6
+14.2
20235
Magic Johnson 17.4
1982NBA Champion14

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Anthony Edwards 27.6
+9.7
202416
Magic Johnson 17.9
198315

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Anthony Edwards 25.3
+7.1
202515
Magic Johnson 18.2
198421

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Anthony Edwards -
DNP *
20260
Magic Johnson 17.5
+17.5
1985NBA Champion19
* season in progress

Magic Johnson's additional Playoffs:

* During his 7 additional NBA seasons, Magic Johnson played in 7 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those postseasons he averaged 20.9 points in a total of 102 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 25.2 ppg and his lowest 15.3.

Share: