Josh Giddey vs. Magic Johnson: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Magic Johnson and Josh Giddey 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

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 Josh Giddey 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.

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 13 NBA regular seasons played, Magic Johnson averages 5.4 points more than Josh Giddey in his 5 seasons (19.5 points against 14.1), and he also scored a total of 13,707 points more (17,707 vs. 4,000).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Josh Giddey 14.1
5
Magic Johnson 19.5
+5.4
13

Total Points

Seasons
Josh Giddey 4,000
5
Magic Johnson 17,707
+13,707
13

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Magic Johnson has a better career point average than Josh Giddey (+10.8 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,614).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Josh Giddey 8.7
1
Magic Johnson 19.5
+10.8
13

Total Points

Playoffs
Josh Giddey 87
1
Magic Johnson 3,701
+3,614
13

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

40+ Point Games

Josh Giddey 0
Magic Johnson 6
+6

30+ Point Games

Josh Giddey 2
Magic Johnson 93
+91

20+ Point Games

Josh Giddey 49
Magic Johnson 447
+398

10+ Point Games

Josh Giddey 218
Magic Johnson 825
+607

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Josh Giddey 281
Magic Johnson 903
+622

0 Point Games (games without points)

Josh Giddey 2
Magic Johnson 3
+1

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

Josh Giddey 0
Magic Johnson 4
+4

30+ Point Games

Josh Giddey 0
Magic Johnson 12
+12

20+ Point Games

Josh Giddey 1
Magic Johnson 83
+82

10+ Point Games

Josh Giddey 4
Magic Johnson 182
+178

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Josh Giddey 10
Magic Johnson 189
+179

0 Point Games (games without points)

Josh Giddey 0
Magic Johnson 1
+1

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Josh Giddey 14.1 5.7 12.3 46.4 1.1 3.5 33.1 1.6 2.1 76.2 5 283
difference:+5.4+1.2+0.9+5.6+0.7+2.3+2.8+3.9+4.4+8.6+8+623
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
Josh Giddey 4,000 1,612 3,477 46.4 324 980 33.1 452 593 76.2 5 283
difference:+13,707+4,599+8,474+5.6+1+94+2.8+4,508+5,257+8.6+8+623
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
Josh Giddey 8.7 3.4 7.5 45.3 1.2 3.4 35.3 0.7 0.8 87.5 1 10
difference:+10.8+3.4+5.9+5.3+0.9+2.3+11.2+4.9+5.9+3.7+12+180
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
Josh Giddey 87 34 75 45.3 12 34 35.3 7 8 87.5 1 10
difference:+3,614+1,257+2,477+5.3+39+178+11.2+1,061+1,266+3.7+12+180
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
Josh Giddey 12.5
202254
Magic Johnson 18.0
+5.5
1980NBA Champion77

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Josh Giddey 16.6
202376
Magic Johnson 21.6
+5.0
198137

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Josh Giddey 12.3
202480
Magic Johnson 18.6
+6.3
1982NBA Champion78

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Josh Giddey 14.6
202570
Magic Johnson 16.8
+2.2
198379

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Josh Giddey 19.3
+1.7
20263
Magic Johnson 17.6
198467

Magic Johnson's additional seasons:

* Magic Johnson played 8 seasons more than Josh Giddey in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 6 to 13, from 1985 to 1996—he averaged 20.4 points in a total of 568 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 23.9 ppg and his lowest 14.6.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Josh Giddey -
DNP
20220
Magic Johnson 18.3
+18.3
1980NBA Champion16

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Josh Giddey -
DNP
20230
Magic Johnson 17.0
+17.0
19813

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Josh Giddey 8.7
202410
Magic Johnson 17.4
+8.7
1982NBA Champion14

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Josh Giddey -
DNP
20250
Magic Johnson 17.9
+17.9
198315

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Josh Giddey -
DNP *
20260
Magic Johnson 18.2
+18.2
198421
* season in progress

Magic Johnson's additional Playoffs:

* During his 8 additional NBA seasons, Magic Johnson played in 8 Playoffs and won 3 NBA Championships. In those postseasons he averaged 20.4 points in a total of 121 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 25.2 ppg and his lowest 15.3.

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