Magic Johnson vs. Damian Lillard: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Damian Lillard 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.
Damian Lillard 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 Damian Lillard has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs and also scored more total points during the season while Magic Johnson scored more points in the postseason. 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: |
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Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers |
Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?
Points in the Regular Season
In his 13 NBA regular seasons played, Damian Lillard averages 5.6 points more than Magic Johnson in his 13 seasons (25.1 points against 19.5), and he also scored a total of 4,891 points more (22,598 vs. 17,707).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Magic Johnson | 19.5 | 13 | |
| Damian Lillard | 25.1 | +5.6 | 13 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Magic Johnson | 17,707 | 13 | |
| Damian Lillard | 22,598 | +4,891 | 13 |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Damian Lillard has a better career point average than Magic Johnson (+5.7 points per game) while Magic Johnson scored more points (+1,986).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Magic Johnson | 19.5 | 13 | |
| Damian Lillard | 25.2 | +5.7 | 10 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Magic Johnson | 3,701 | +1,986 | 13 |
| Damian Lillard | 1,715 | 10 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
70+ Point Games | ||||
| Magic Johnson | 0 | |||
| Damian Lillard | 1 | +1 | ||
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Magic Johnson | 0 | |||
| Damian Lillard | 5 | +5 | ||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Magic Johnson | 0 | |||
| Damian Lillard | 15 | +15 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Magic Johnson | 447 | |||
| Damian Lillard | 650 | +203 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Magic Johnson | 825 | |||
| Damian Lillard | 882 | +57 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Magic Johnson | 903 | +3 | ||
| Damian Lillard | 900 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Magic Johnson | 3 | +3 | ||
| Damian Lillard | 0 | |||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Magic Johnson | 0 | |||
| Damian Lillard | 2 | +2 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Magic Johnson | 83 | +37 | ||
| Damian Lillard | 46 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Magic Johnson | 182 | +116 | ||
| Damian Lillard | 66 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Magic Johnson | 189 | +122 | ||
| Damian Lillard | 67 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Magic Johnson | 1 | |||
| Damian Lillard | 1 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
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: | +5.6 | +1.2 | +5.2 | +8.1 | +2.7 | +7.2 | +6.8 | +0.3 | +5.1 | +6 | ||
| Damian Lillard | 25.1 | 8.1 | 18.4 | 43.9 | 3.1 | 8.4 | 37.1 | 5.8 | 6.5 | 89.9 | 13 | 900 |
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: | +4,891 | +1,055 | +4,617 | +8.1 | +2,479 | +6,482 | +6.8 | +302 | +3 | +5.1 | +6 | |
| Damian Lillard | 22,598 | 7,266 | 16,568 | 43.9 | 2,804 | 7,556 | 37.1 | 5,262 | 5,853 | 89.9 | 13 | 900 |
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: | +5.7 | +1.2 | +6.1 | +9.7 | +3.0 | +7.8 | +12.7 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +5.5 | +3 | +122 |
| Damian Lillard | 25.2 | 8.0 | 19.5 | 40.9 | 3.3 | 8.9 | 36.8 | 6.0 | 6.8 | 89.3 | 10 | 68 |
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: | +1,986 | +750 | +1,228 | +9.7 | +171 | +391 | +12.7 | +657 | +814 | +5.5 | +3 | +122 |
| Damian Lillard | 1,715 | 541 | 1,324 | 40.9 | 222 | 603 | 36.8 | 411 | 460 | 89.3 | 10 | 68 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 18.0 | 1980 | 77 | |
| Damian Lillard | 19.0 | +1.0 | 2013 | 82 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 21.6 | +0.9 | 1981 | 37 |
| Damian Lillard | 20.7 | 2014 | 82 | |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 18.6 | 1982 | 78 | |
| Damian Lillard | 21.0 | +2.4 | 2015 | 82 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 16.8 | 1983 | 79 | |
| Damian Lillard | 25.1 | +8.3 | 2016 | 75 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 17.6 | 1984 | 67 | |
| Damian Lillard | 27.0 | +9.4 | 2017 | 75 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 18.3 | 1985 | 77 | |
| Damian Lillard | 26.9 | +8.6 | 2018 | 73 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 18.8 | 1986 | 72 | |
| Damian Lillard | 25.8 | +7.0 | 2019 | 80 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 23.9 | 1987 | 80 | |
| Damian Lillard | 30.0 | +6.1 | 2020 | 66 |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 18.3 | +18.3 | 1980 | 16 |
| Damian Lillard | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 17.0 | 1981 | 3 | |
| Damian Lillard | 22.9 | +5.9 | 2014 | 11 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 17.4 | 1982 | 14 | |
| Damian Lillard | 21.6 | +4.2 | 2015 | 5 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 17.9 | 1983 | 15 | |
| Damian Lillard | 26.5 | +8.6 | 2016 | 11 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 18.2 | 1984 | 21 | |
| Damian Lillard | 27.8 | +9.6 | 2017 | 4 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 17.5 | 1985 | 19 | |
| Damian Lillard | 18.5 | +1.0 | 2018 | 4 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 21.6 | 1986 | 14 | |
| Damian Lillard | 26.9 | +5.3 | 2019 | 16 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 21.8 | 1987 | 18 | |
| Damian Lillard | 24.3 | +2.5 | 2020 | 4 |
Season 10 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 18.4 | +18.4 | 1989 | 14 |
| Damian Lillard | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 25.2 | +25.2 | 1990 | 9 |
| Damian Lillard | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |