Magic Johnson is one of the greatest players of all time. Johnson is considered to be the best point guard ever to play the game. Before Michael Jordan and LeBron James were dominating the NBA, Johnson was running rampant, helping the Los Angeles Lakers to further their championship pedigree year after year.
Johnson was so great that he was able to win an NBA championship and Finals MVP in his rookie year, while his teammate was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Johnson revolutionized the point guard position and showed that you can be a great scorer while still being an orchestrator and passer for your team.
Johnson was incredibly successful in the NBA, winning five NBA titles and winning a lot of games during his career. So much so that by his retirement, he had an incredible win percentage of 72.8%. For the longest time in the NBA, Magic had the highest win percentage in history.
But by the 2019-20 NBA season, Clippers star Kawhi Leonard surpassed him for win percentage in his career. Leonard had become a superstar over the last few seasons, and it allowed him to overtake Johnson.
Kawhi was truly on top of the NBA. But his reign on top would not last for long. After his 2020-21 NBA season, Leonard’s win percentage dropped below Magic Johnson, meaning that Magic now once again has the highest win percentage in NBA history.
Magic Johnson 798-298 72.8%
Kawhi Leonard 515-196 72.4%
Michael Cooper 751-290 72.1%
KC Jones 561-220 71.8%
Tom Heinsohn 544-214 71.7%
Larry Bird 759-302 71.5%
Sam Jones 724-298 70.8%
Bill Russell 797-331 70.6%
Danny Green 642-268 70.5%
Tim Duncan 1158-485 70.4%
(again) @MagicJohnson is the winningest player in @NBA history with a 798-298 record (regular season and postseason combined). Kawhi Leonard finished the 2020-21 season with a 42-21 record and slid to No 2 All-Time (min. 500 games played). pic.twitter.com/LxsrgRApSd
— Crazy Stats (@NBAcrazystats) August 19, 2021
Magic Johnson 798-298 72.8%
Kawhi Leonard 515-196 72.4%
Michael Cooper 751-290 72.1%
KC Jones 561-220 71.8%
Tom Heinsohn 544-214 71.7%
Larry Bird 759-302 71.5%
Sam Jones 724-298 70.8%
Bill Russell 797-331 70.6%
Danny Green 642-268 70.5%
Tim Duncan 1158-485 70.4%
— Crazy Stats (@NBAcrazystats) August 19, 2021
Other players on the list include Michael Cooper, KC Jones, Tom Heinsohn, Larry Bird, Sam Jones, Bill Russell, Danny Green, and Tim Duncan. And while they come close to him, Johnson still remains the winningest player in NBA history.
