Stephen Curry vs. Magic Johnson: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Magic Johnson and Stephen Curry 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.

Stephen Curry 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 Stephen Curry has better scoring stats than Magic Johnson 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 in the Regular Season

In his 17 NBA regular seasons played, Stephen Curry averages 5.3 points more than Magic Johnson in his 13 seasons (24.8 points against 19.5), and he also scored a total of 8,111 points more (25,818 vs. 17,707).

Points Per Game			Seasons
Stephen Curry	24.8	+5.3	17
Magic Johnson	19.5		13

Total Points			Seasons
Stephen Curry	25,818	+8,111	17
Magic Johnson	17,707		13

Scoring Titles
Stephen Curry	2	+2
Magic Johnson	0

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
Stephen Curry	17.5		2010	80
Magic Johnson	18.0	+0.5	1980	77

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	18.6		2011	74
Magic Johnson	21.6	+3.0	1981	37

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	14.7		2012	26
Magic Johnson	18.6	+3.9	1982	78

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	22.9	+6.1	2013	78
Magic Johnson	16.8		1983	79

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	24.0	+6.4	2014	78
Magic Johnson	17.6		1984	67

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	23.8	+5.5	2015	80
Magic Johnson	18.3		1985	77

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	30.1	+11.3	2016	79
Magic Johnson	18.8		1986	72

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	25.3	+1.4	2017	79
Magic Johnson	23.9		1987	80

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	26.4	+6.8	2018	51
Magic Johnson	19.6		1988	72

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	27.3	+4.8	2019	69
Magic Johnson	22.5		1989	77

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	20.8		2020	5
Magic Johnson	22.3	+1.5	1990	79

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	32.0	+12.6	2021	63
Magic Johnson	19.4		1991	79

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	25.5	+10.9	2022	64
Magic Johnson	14.6		1996	32

Stephen Curry's additional seasons:

* Stephen Curry played 4 seasons more than Magic Johnson in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 14 to 17, from 2023 to 2026—he averaged 26.8 points in a total of 215 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 29.4 ppg and his lowest 24.5.

Playoffs

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	-	DNP	2010	0
Magic Johnson	18.3	+18.3	1980	16

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	-	DNP	2011	0
Magic Johnson	17.0	+17.0	1981	3

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	-	DNP	2012	0
Magic Johnson	17.4	+17.4	1982	14

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	23.4	+5.5	2013	12
Magic Johnson	17.9		1983	15

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	23.0	+4.8	2014	7
Magic Johnson	18.2		1984	21

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	28.3	+10.8	2015	21
Magic Johnson	17.5		1985	19

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	25.1	+3.5	2016	18
Magic Johnson	21.6		1986	14

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	28.1	+6.3	2017	17
Magic Johnson	21.8		1987	18

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	25.5	+5.6	2018	15
Magic Johnson	19.9		1988	24

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	28.2	+9.8	2019	22
Magic Johnson	18.4		1989	14

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	-	DNP	2020	0
Magic Johnson	25.2	+25.2	1990	9

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	-	DNP	2021	0
Magic Johnson	21.8	+21.8	1991	19

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Stephen Curry	27.4	+12.1	2022	22
Magic Johnson	15.3		1996	4

Stephen Curry's additional Playoffs:

* During his 4 additional NBA seasons, Stephen Curry played in two Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 27.5 points in a total of 21 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 30.5 ppg and his lowest 22.6.