Tim Duncan vs. Magic Johnson: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Magic Johnson and Tim Duncan 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings

Tim Duncan 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 Tim Duncan scored more total points both in the regular season and Playoffs and also has a better playoff average while Magic Johnson has a better scoring average 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.

On this page we compare:

Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers
Games of 30+ points, 40+, 50+, etc
Shooting Stats
Points Year by Year

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 13 NBA regular seasons played, Magic Johnson averages 0.5 points more than Tim Duncan in his 19 seasons (19.5 points against 19.0). On the other hand Tim Duncan scored a total of 8,789 points more than Magic Johnson (26,496 vs. 17,707).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Tim Duncan 19.0
19
Magic Johnson 19.5
+0.5
13

Total Points

Seasons
Tim Duncan 26,496
+8,789
19
Magic Johnson 17,707
13

Points in the Playoffs

In the NBA postseason Tim Duncan has a better career point average than Magic Johnson (+1.1 points per game) and he also scored more points (+1,471).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Tim Duncan 20.6
+1.1
18
Magic Johnson 19.5
13

Total Points

Playoffs
Tim Duncan 5,172
+1,471
18
Magic Johnson 3,701
13

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

50+ Point Games

Tim Duncan 1
+1
Magic Johnson 0

40+ Point Games

Tim Duncan 5
Magic Johnson 6
+1

30+ Point Games

Tim Duncan 122
+29
Magic Johnson 93

20+ Point Games

Tim Duncan 639
+192
Magic Johnson 447

10+ Point Games

Tim Duncan 1,256
+431
Magic Johnson 825

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Tim Duncan 1,390
+487
Magic Johnson 903

0 Point Games (games without points)

Tim Duncan 2
Magic Johnson 3
+1

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

Tim Duncan 4
Magic Johnson 4

30+ Point Games

Tim Duncan 36
+24
Magic Johnson 12

20+ Point Games

Tim Duncan 137
+54
Magic Johnson 83

10+ Point Games

Tim Duncan 232
+50
Magic Johnson 182

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Tim Duncan 250
+61
Magic Johnson 189

0 Point Games (games without points)

Tim Duncan 1
Magic Johnson 1

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Tim Duncan 19.0 7.4 14.6 50.6 0.0 0.1 17.9 4.2 6.1 69.6 19 1,392
difference:+0.5+0.5+1.4+1.4+0.4+1.1+12.4+1.3+0.4+15.2+6+486
Magic Johnson 19.5 6.9 13.2 52.0 0.4 1.2 30.3 5.5 6.5 84.8 13 906

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Tim Duncan 26,496 10,285 20,334 50.6 30 168 17.9 5,896 8,468 69.6 19 1,392
difference:+8,789+4,074+8,383+1.4+295+906+12.4+936+2,618+15.2+6+486
Magic Johnson 17,707 6,211 11,951 52.0 325 1,074 30.3 4,960 5,850 84.8 13 906

Playoffs

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Tim Duncan 20.6 7.9 15.7 50.1 0.0 0.1 14.3 4.8 7.0 68.9 18 251
difference:+1.1+1.1+2.3+0.4+0.3+1.0+9.8+0.8+0.3+14.9+5+61
Magic Johnson 19.5 6.8 13.4 50.6 0.3 1.1 24.1 5.6 6.7 83.8 13 190

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Tim Duncan 5,172 1,975 3,939 50.1 5 35 14.3 1,217 1,766 68.9 18 251
difference:+1,471+684+1,387+0.4+46+177+9.8+149+492+14.9+5+61
Magic Johnson 3,701 1,291 2,552 50.6 51 212 24.1 1,068 1,274 83.8 13 190

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 21.1
+3.1
199882
Magic Johnson 18.0
1980NBA Champion77

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 21.7
+0.1
1999NBA Champion50
Magic Johnson 21.6
198137

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 23.2
+4.6
200074
Magic Johnson 18.6
1982NBA Champion78

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 22.2
+5.4
200182
Magic Johnson 16.8
198379

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 25.5
+7.9
200282
Magic Johnson 17.6
198467

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 23.3
+5.0
2003NBA Champion81
Magic Johnson 18.3
1985NBA Champion77

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 22.3
+3.5
200469
Magic Johnson 18.8
198672

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 20.3
2005NBA Champion66
Magic Johnson 23.9
+3.6
1987NBA Champion80

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 18.6
200680
Magic Johnson 19.6
+1.0
1988NBA Champion72

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 20.0
2007NBA Champion80
Magic Johnson 22.5
+2.5
198977

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 19.3
200878
Magic Johnson 22.3
+3.0
199079

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 19.3
200975
Magic Johnson 19.4
+0.1
199179

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 17.9
+3.3
201078
Magic Johnson 14.6
199632

Tim Duncan's additional seasons:

* Tim Duncan played 6 seasons more than Magic Johnson in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 14 to 19, from 2011 to 2016—he averaged 14.1 points in a total of 415 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 17.8 ppg and his lowest 8.6.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 20.7
+2.4
19989
Magic Johnson 18.3
1980NBA Champion16

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 23.2
+6.2
1999NBA Champion17
Magic Johnson 17.0
19813

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan -
DNP
20000
Magic Johnson 17.4
+17.4
1982NBA Champion14

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 24.4
+6.5
200113
Magic Johnson 17.9
198315

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 27.6
+9.4
20029
Magic Johnson 18.2
198421

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 24.7
+7.2
2003NBA Champion24
Magic Johnson 17.5
1985NBA Champion19

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 22.1
+0.5
200410
Magic Johnson 21.6
198614

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 23.6
+1.8
2005NBA Champion23
Magic Johnson 21.8
1987NBA Champion18

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 25.8
+5.9
200613
Magic Johnson 19.9
1988NBA Champion24

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 22.2
+3.8
2007NBA Champion20
Magic Johnson 18.4
198914

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 20.2
200817
Magic Johnson 25.2
+5.0
19909

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 19.8
20095
Magic Johnson 21.8
+2.0
199119

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 19.0
+3.7
201010
Magic Johnson 15.3
19964

Tim Duncan's additional Playoffs:

* During his 6 additional NBA seasons, Tim Duncan played in 6 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 15.5 points in a total of 81 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 18.1 ppg and his lowest 5.9.

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