Magic Johnson vs. Arvydas Sabonis: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Arvydas Sabonis and Magic Johnson 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 / Games against each other

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 Arvydas Sabonis 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 7.5 points more than Arvydas Sabonis in his 7 seasons (19.5 points against 12.0), and he also scored a total of 12,078 points more (17,707 vs. 5,629).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Magic Johnson 19.5
+7.5
13
Arvydas Sabonis 12.0
7

Total Points

Seasons
Magic Johnson 17,707
+12,078
13
Arvydas Sabonis 5,629
7

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 Arvydas Sabonis (+7.4 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,084).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Magic Johnson 19.5
+7.4
13
Arvydas Sabonis 12.1
7

Total Points

Playoffs
Magic Johnson 3,701
+3,084
13
Arvydas Sabonis 617
7

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

40+ Point Games

Magic Johnson 6
+6
Arvydas Sabonis 0

30+ Point Games

Magic Johnson 93
+88
Arvydas Sabonis 5

20+ Point Games

Magic Johnson 447
+381
Arvydas Sabonis 66

10+ Point Games

Magic Johnson 825
+528
Arvydas Sabonis 297

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Magic Johnson 903
+444
Arvydas Sabonis 459

0 Point Games (games without points)

Magic Johnson 3
Arvydas Sabonis 11
+8

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

Magic Johnson 4
+4
Arvydas Sabonis 0

30+ Point Games

Magic Johnson 12
+12
Arvydas Sabonis 0

20+ Point Games

Magic Johnson 83
+77
Arvydas Sabonis 6

10+ Point Games

Magic Johnson 182
+147
Arvydas Sabonis 35

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Magic Johnson 189
+140
Arvydas Sabonis 49

0 Point Games (games without points)

Magic Johnson 1
Arvydas Sabonis 2
+1

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Magic Johnson 19.5 6.9 13.2 52.0 0.4 1.2 30.3 5.5 6.5 84.8 13 906
difference:+7.5+2.5+4.3+1.9+0.1+0.3+2.5+2.7+2.9+6.2+6+436
Arvydas Sabonis 12.0 4.4 8.9 50.0 0.3 0.9 32.8 2.8 3.6 78.6 7 470

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Magic Johnson 17,707 6,211 11,951 52.0 325 1,074 30.3 4,960 5,850 84.8 13 906
difference:+12,078+4,129+7,791+1.9+189+659+2.5+3,631+4,160+6.2+6+436
Arvydas Sabonis 5,629 2,082 4,160 50.0 136 415 32.8 1,329 1,690 78.6 7 470

Playoffs

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Magic Johnson 19.5 6.8 13.4 50.6 0.3 1.1 24.1 5.6 6.7 83.8 13 190
difference:+7.4+2.4+3.8+5.4+0.2+7.8+2.5+2.8+3.6+6+139
Arvydas Sabonis 12.1 4.4 9.6 45.2 0.3 0.9 31.9 3.1 3.9 80.2 7 51

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Magic Johnson 3,701 1,291 2,552 50.6 51 212 24.1 1,068 1,274 83.8 13 190
difference:+3,084+1,069+2,061+5.4+36+165+7.8+910+1,077+3.6+6+139
Arvydas Sabonis 617 222 491 45.2 15 47 31.9 158 197 80.2 7 51

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Magic Johnson 18.0
+3.5
1980NBA Champion77
Arvydas Sabonis 14.5
199673

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Magic Johnson 21.6
+8.2
198137
Arvydas Sabonis 13.4
199769

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Magic Johnson 18.6
+2.6
1982NBA Champion78
Arvydas Sabonis 16.0
199873

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Magic Johnson 16.8
+4.7
198379
Arvydas Sabonis 12.1
199950

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Magic Johnson 17.6
+5.8
198467
Arvydas Sabonis 11.8
200066

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Magic Johnson 18.3
+8.2
1985NBA Champion77
Arvydas Sabonis 10.1
200161

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Magic Johnson 18.8
+12.7
198672
Arvydas Sabonis 6.1
200378

Magic Johnson's additional seasons:

* Magic Johnson played 6 seasons more than Arvydas Sabonis in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 8 to 13, from 1987 to 1996—he averaged 21.0 points in a total of 419 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 23.9 ppg and his lowest 14.6.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Magic Johnson 18.3
1980NBA Champion16
Arvydas Sabonis 23.6
+5.3
19965

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Magic Johnson 17.0
+5.7
19813
Arvydas Sabonis 11.3
19974

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Magic Johnson 17.4
+5.1
1982NBA Champion14
Arvydas Sabonis 12.3
19984

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Magic Johnson 17.9
+7.9
198315
Arvydas Sabonis 10.0
199913

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Magic Johnson 18.2
+6.9
198421
Arvydas Sabonis 11.3
200016

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Magic Johnson 17.5
+6.2
1985NBA Champion19
Arvydas Sabonis 11.3
20013

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Magic Johnson 21.6
+11.6
198614
Arvydas Sabonis 10.0
20036

Magic Johnson's additional Playoffs:

* During his 6 additional NBA seasons, Magic Johnson played in 6 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those postseasons he averaged 20.8 points in a total of 88 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 25.2 ppg and his lowest 15.3.

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