Magic Johnson vs. Scottie Pippen: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Scottie Pippen 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 averages both in the regular season and Playoffs and also scored more points in during the postseason while Scottie Pippen scored more points in the regular season. 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	+10.1	1980	77
Scottie Pippen	7.9		1988	79

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	21.6	+7.2	1981	37
Scottie Pippen	14.4		1989	73

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	18.6	+2.1	1982	78
Scottie Pippen	16.5		1990	82

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	16.8		1983	79
Scottie Pippen	17.8	+1.0	1991	82

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	17.6		1984	67
Scottie Pippen	21.0	+3.4	1992	82

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	18.3		1985	77
Scottie Pippen	18.6	+0.3	1993	81

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	18.8		1986	72
Scottie Pippen	22.0	+3.2	1994	72

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	23.9	+2.5	1987	80
Scottie Pippen	21.4		1995	79

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	19.6	+0.2	1988	72
Scottie Pippen	19.4		1996	77

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	22.5	+2.3	1989	77
Scottie Pippen	20.2		1997	82

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	22.3	+3.2	1990	79
Scottie Pippen	19.1		1998	44

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	19.4	+4.9	1991	79
Scottie Pippen	14.5		1999	50

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	14.6	+2.1	1996	32
Scottie Pippen	12.5		2000	82

Scottie Pippen's additional seasons:

* Scottie Pippen played 4 seasons more than Magic Johnson in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 14 to 17, from 2001 to 2004—he averaged 10.4 points in a total of 213 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 11.3 ppg and his lowest 5.9.

Playoffs

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	18.3	+8.3	1980	16
Scottie Pippen	10.0		1988	10

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	17.0	+3.9	1981	3
Scottie Pippen	13.1		1989	17

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	17.4		1982	14
Scottie Pippen	19.3	+1.9	1990	15

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	17.9		1983	15
Scottie Pippen	21.6	+3.7	1991	17

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	18.2		1984	21
Scottie Pippen	19.5	+1.3	1992	22

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	17.5		1985	19
Scottie Pippen	20.1	+2.6	1993	19

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	21.6		1986	14
Scottie Pippen	22.8	+1.2	1994	10

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	21.8	+4.0	1987	18
Scottie Pippen	17.8		1995	10

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	19.9	+3.0	1988	24
Scottie Pippen	16.9		1996	18

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	18.4		1989	14
Scottie Pippen	19.2	+0.8	1997	19

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	25.2	+8.4	1990	9
Scottie Pippen	16.8		1998	21

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	21.8	+3.5	1991	19
Scottie Pippen	18.3		1999	4

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Magic Johnson	15.3	+0.4	1996	4
Scottie Pippen	14.9		2000	16

Scottie Pippen's additional Playoffs:

* During his 4 additional NBA seasons, Scottie Pippen played in 3 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 11.3 points in a total of 10 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 16.3 ppg and his lowest 5.8.