Magic Johnson vs. Trae Young: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Trae Young 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.
Trae Young has one of the highest career point averages in NBA 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 Trae Young has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Magic Johnson scored more total points in both stages. 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 8 NBA regular seasons played, Trae Young averages 5.7 points more than Magic Johnson in his 13 seasons (25.2 points against 19.5). On the other hand Magic Johnson scored a total of 5,398 points more than Trae Young (17,707 vs. 12,309).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Magic Johnson | 19.5 | 13 | |
| Trae Young | 25.2 | +5.7 | 8 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Magic Johnson | 17,707 | +5,398 | 13 |
| Trae Young | 12,309 | 8 | |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Trae Young has a better career point average than Magic Johnson (+6.9 points per game) while Magic Johnson scored more points (+2,988).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Magic Johnson | 19.5 | 13 | |
| Trae Young | 26.4 | +6.9 | 3 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Magic Johnson | 3,701 | +2,988 | 13 |
| Trae Young | 713 | 3 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Magic Johnson | 0 | |||
| Trae Young | 2 | +2 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Magic Johnson | 447 | +102 | ||
| Trae Young | 345 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Magic Johnson | 825 | +358 | ||
| Trae Young | 467 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Magic Johnson | 903 | +415 | ||
| Trae Young | 488 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Magic Johnson | 3 | +3 | ||
| Trae Young | 0 | |||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Magic Johnson | 83 | +62 | ||
| Trae Young | 21 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Magic Johnson | 182 | +157 | ||
| Trae Young | 25 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Magic Johnson | 189 | +162 | ||
| Trae Young | 27 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Magic Johnson | 1 | +1 | ||
| Trae Young | 0 | |||
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: | +5.7 | +1.1 | +5.3 | +8.8 | +2.2 | +6.3 | +4.8 | +1.1 | +1.1 | +2.5 | +5 | +418 |
| Trae Young | 25.2 | 8.0 | 18.5 | 43.2 | 2.6 | 7.5 | 35.1 | 6.6 | 7.6 | 87.3 | 8 | 488 |
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: | +5,398 | +2,320 | +2,946 | +8.8 | +957 | +2,580 | +4.8 | +1,715 | +2,132 | +2.5 | +5 | +418 |
| Trae Young | 12,309 | 3,891 | 9,005 | 43.2 | 1,282 | 3,654 | 35.1 | 3,245 | 3,718 | 87.3 | 8 | 488 |
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: | +6.9 | +1.8 | +8.0 | +10.4 | +2.3 | +7.6 | +5.6 | +1.0 | +1.1 | +1.4 | +10 | +163 |
| Trae Young | 26.4 | 8.6 | 21.4 | 40.2 | 2.6 | 8.7 | 29.7 | 6.6 | 7.8 | 85.2 | 3 | 27 |
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: | +2,988 | +1,059 | +1,975 | +10.4 | +19 | +24 | +5.6 | +889 | +1,064 | +1.4 | +10 | +163 |
| Trae Young | 713 | 232 | 577 | 40.2 | 70 | 236 | 29.7 | 179 | 210 | 85.2 | 3 | 27 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 18.0 | 1980 | 77 | |
| Trae Young | 19.1 | +1.1 | 2019 | 81 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 21.6 | 1981 | 37 | |
| Trae Young | 29.6 | +8.0 | 2020 | 60 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 18.6 | 1982 | 78 | |
| Trae Young | 25.3 | +6.7 | 2021 | 63 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 16.8 | 1983 | 79 | |
| Trae Young | 28.4 | +11.6 | 2022 | 76 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 17.6 | 1984 | 67 | |
| Trae Young | 26.2 | +8.6 | 2023 | 73 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 18.3 | 1985 | 77 | |
| Trae Young | 25.7 | +7.4 | 2024 | 54 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 18.8 | 1986 | 72 | |
| Trae Young | 24.2 | +5.4 | 2025 | 76 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 23.9 | +6.1 | 1987 | 80 |
| Trae Young | 17.8 | 2026 | 5 | |
Magic Johnson's additional seasons: | ||||
* Magic Johnson played 5 seasons more than Trae Young in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 9 to 13, from 1988 to 1996—he averaged 20.4 points in a total of 339 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 22.5 ppg and his lowest 14.6. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 18.3 | +18.3 | 1980 | 16 |
| Trae Young | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 17.0 | +17.0 | 1981 | 3 |
| Trae Young | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 17.4 | 1982 | 14 | |
| Trae Young | 28.8 | +11.4 | 2021 | 16 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 17.9 | +2.5 | 1983 | 15 |
| Trae Young | 15.4 | 2022 | 5 | |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 18.2 | 1984 | 21 | |
| Trae Young | 29.2 | +11.0 | 2023 | 6 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 17.5 | +17.5 | 1985 | 19 |
| Trae Young | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 21.6 | +21.6 | 1986 | 14 |
| Trae Young | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Magic Johnson | 21.8 | +21.8 | 1987 | 18 |
| Trae Young | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| * season in progress | ||||
Magic Johnson's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 5 additional NBA seasons, Magic Johnson played in 5 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 20.5 points in a total of 70 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 25.2 ppg and his lowest 15.3. |