Magic Johnson vs. David Robinson: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of David Robinson 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.

David Robinson is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points 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 David Robinson has better scoring average and totals in the regular season while in the Playoffs both numbers are better for Magic Johnson. 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 in the Regular Season

In his 14 NBA regular seasons played, David Robinson averages 1.6 points more than Magic Johnson in his 13 seasons (21.1 points against 19.5), and he also scored a total of 3,083 points more (20,790 vs. 17,707).

Points Per Game			Seasons
Magic Johnson	19.5		13
David Robinson	21.1	+1.6	14

Total Points			Seasons
Magic Johnson	17,707		13
David Robinson	20,790	+3,083	14

Scoring Titles
Magic Johnson	0
David Robinson	1	+1

Points by Thresholds

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

= NBA Scoring Leader

= NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	18.0		1980	77
David Robinson	24.3	+6.3	1990	82

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	21.6		1981	37
David Robinson	25.6	+4.0	1991	82

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	18.6		1982	78
David Robinson	23.2	+4.6	1992	68

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	16.8		1983	79
David Robinson	23.4	+6.6	1993	82

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	17.6		1984	67
David Robinson	29.8	+12.2	1994	80

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	18.3		1985	77
David Robinson	27.6	+9.3	1995	81

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	18.8		1986	72
David Robinson	25.0	+6.2	1996	82

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	23.9	+6.2	1987	80
David Robinson	17.7		1997	6

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	19.6		1988	72
David Robinson	21.6	+2.0	1998	73

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	22.5	+6.7	1989	77
David Robinson	15.8		1999	49

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	22.3	+4.5	1990	79
David Robinson	17.8		2000	80

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	19.4	+5.0	1991	79
David Robinson	14.4		2001	80

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	14.6	+2.4	1996	32
David Robinson	12.2		2002	78

David Robinson's additional seasons:

* David Robinson played 1 season more than Magic Johnson in the NBA. In that year—his season 14 in 2003—he averaged 8.5 points in a total of 64 regular season games.

Playoffs

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	18.3		1980	16
David Robinson	24.3	+6.0	1990	10

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	17.0		1981	3
David Robinson	25.8	+8.8	1991	4

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	17.4	+17.4	1982	14
David Robinson	-	DNP	1992	0

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	17.9		1983	15
David Robinson	23.1	+5.2	1993	10

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	18.2		1984	21
David Robinson	20.0	+1.8	1994	4

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	17.5		1985	19
David Robinson	25.3	+7.8	1995	15

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	21.6		1986	14
David Robinson	23.6	+2.0	1996	10

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	21.8	+21.8	1987	18
David Robinson	-	DNP	1997	0

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	19.9	+0.5	1988	24
David Robinson	19.4		1998	9

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	18.4	+2.8	1989	14
David Robinson	15.6		1999	17

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	25.2	+1.7	1990	9
David Robinson	23.5		2000	4

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	21.8	+5.2	1991	19
David Robinson	16.6		2001	13

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	15.3	+10.8	1996	4
David Robinson	4.5		2002	4

David Robinson's additional Playoffs:

* In his additional NBA year, David Robinson played in the Playoffs and won the NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 7.8 points in a total of 23 games.