Magic Johnson vs. Kendrick Perkins: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Kendrick Perkins 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.

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 Kendrick Perkins 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
Magic Johnson	18.0	+15.8	1980	77
Kendrick Perkins	2.2		2004	10

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	21.6	+19.1	1981	37
Kendrick Perkins	2.5		2005	60

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	18.6	+13.4	1982	78
Kendrick Perkins	5.2		2006	68

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	16.8	+12.3	1983	79
Kendrick Perkins	4.5		2007	72

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	17.6	+10.7	1984	67
Kendrick Perkins	6.9		2008	78

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	18.3	+9.8	1985	77
Kendrick Perkins	8.5		2009	76

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	18.8	+8.7	1986	72
Kendrick Perkins	10.1		2010	78

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	23.9	+17.9	1987	80
Kendrick Perkins	6.0		2011	29

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	19.6	+13.6	1988	72
Kendrick Perkins	6.0		2011	29

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	22.5	+17.4	1989	77
Kendrick Perkins	5.1		2012	65

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	22.3	+18.1	1990	79
Kendrick Perkins	4.2		2013	78

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	19.4	+16.0	1991	79
Kendrick Perkins	3.4		2014	62

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	14.6	+11.0	1996	32
Kendrick Perkins	3.6		2015	68

Kendrick Perkins' additional seasons:

* Kendrick Perkins played 4 seasons more than Magic Johnson in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 14 to 17, from 2015 to 2018—he averaged 3.4 points in a total of 174 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 3.6 ppg and his lowest 2.5.

Playoffs

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	18.3	+18.3	1980	16
Kendrick Perkins	-	DNP	2004	0

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	17.0	+15.5	1981	3
Kendrick Perkins	1.5		2005	6

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	17.4	+17.4	1982	14
Kendrick Perkins	-	DNP	2006	0

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	17.9	+17.9	1983	15
Kendrick Perkins	-	DNP	2007	0

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	18.2	+11.6	1984	21
Kendrick Perkins	6.6		2008	25

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	17.5	+5.6	1985	19
Kendrick Perkins	11.9		2009	14

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	21.6	+15.9	1986	14
Kendrick Perkins	5.7		2010	23

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	21.8	+17.3	1987	18
Kendrick Perkins	4.5		2011	17

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	19.9	+15.4	1988	24
Kendrick Perkins	4.5		2011	17

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	18.4	+13.7	1989	14
Kendrick Perkins	4.7		2012	20

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	25.2	+23.0	1990	9
Kendrick Perkins	2.2		2013	11

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	21.8	+18.6	1991	19
Kendrick Perkins	3.2		2014	19

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	15.3	+14.0	1996	4
Kendrick Perkins	1.3		2015	8

Kendrick Perkins' additional Playoffs:

* During his 4 additional NBA seasons, Kendrick Perkins played in two Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 1.3 points in a total of 16 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 1.3 ppg and his lowest 1.3.