Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird 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.

Larry Bird is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points and also has one of the highest career averages in league 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 Larry Bird has better scoring stats than Magic Johnson 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
Larry Bird	21.3	+3.3	1980	82
Magic Johnson	18.0		1980	77

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.2		1981	82
Magic Johnson	21.6	+0.4	1981	37

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	22.9	+4.3	1982	77
Magic Johnson	18.6		1982	78

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	23.6	+6.8	1983	79
Magic Johnson	16.8		1983	79

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.2	+6.6	1984	79
Magic Johnson	17.6		1984	67

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	28.7	+10.4	1985	80
Magic Johnson	18.3		1985	77

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	25.8	+7.0	1986	82
Magic Johnson	18.8		1986	72

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	28.1	+4.2	1987	74
Magic Johnson	23.9		1987	80

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	29.9	+10.3	1988	76
Magic Johnson	19.6		1988	72

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	19.3		1989	6
Magic Johnson	22.5	+3.2	1989	77

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.3	+2.0	1990	75
Magic Johnson	22.3		1990	79

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	19.4		1991	60
Magic Johnson	19.4		1991	79

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	20.2	+5.6	1992	45
Magic Johnson	14.6		1996	32

Playoffs

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.3	+3.0	1980	9
Magic Johnson	18.3		1980	16

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.9	+4.9	1981	17
Magic Johnson	17.0		1981	3

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	17.8	+0.4	1982	12
Magic Johnson	17.4		1982	14

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	20.5	+2.6	1983	6
Magic Johnson	17.9		1983	15

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	27.5	+9.3	1984	23
Magic Johnson	18.2		1984	21

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	26.0	+8.5	1985	20
Magic Johnson	17.5		1985	19

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	25.9	+4.3	1986	18
Magic Johnson	21.6		1986	14

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	27.0	+5.2	1987	23
Magic Johnson	21.8		1987	18

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.5	+4.6	1988	17
Magic Johnson	19.9		1988	24

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	-	DNP	1989	0
Magic Johnson	18.4	+18.4	1989	14

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.4		1990	5
Magic Johnson	25.2	+0.8	1990	9

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	17.1		1991	10
Magic Johnson	21.8	+4.7	1991	19

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	11.3		1992	4
Magic Johnson	15.3	+4.0	1996	4