Michael Jordan vs. Magic Johnson Career Comparison: The GOAT Against The Best Point Guard In NBA History

When you think about greatness in the game of basketball, 2 names are synonymous with it: Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. Jordan and Johnson helped to revolutionize basketball during the 1980s and 1990s and paved the way for the modern game that we see today. Jordan is widely regarded as the greatest player to ever play the sport, with 6 championships under his belt and 6 Finals MVP awards, along with a host of other team and individual accomplishments. The same thing can be said about Magic at the point guard position and his standing in NBA history. Johnson himself is a 5-time champion and 3-time Finals MVP who revolutionized how the point guard position was played.

Not only were Magic and Michael fierce competitors on the court, but they were rivals off of it as well. Today, we will take a deep dive into their careers and compare them. We will use their production and stats to look at their impact on the court and how it led to team success. We will also take a look at the individual accolades they achieved to compare their MVP seasons and championship runs. As two of the greatest players to ever play the game and in the same era, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson are linked together forever as far as the history of the NBA goes.

This is the career comparison of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.

Championships

Michael Jordan: 6 (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998)

Magic Johnson: 5 (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988)

After being drafted in 1984, it took Michael Jordan 7 seasons to reach and win his first NBA Finals with the Chicago Bulls. Oddly enough, Jordan’s first Finals win came against the very player we are comparing him to today, Magic Johnson. Jordan would lead the Bulls to 2 three-peats during the 1990s and 6 NBA titles in 8 years from 1991 through 1998. In 35 career Finals games, Jordan never lost a single series and averaged 33.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 6.0 APG. He shot 48.1% for the field overall and 36.8% from the 3-point range.

Magic Johnson was selected as the No. 1 overall pick in 1979. In his first season as a Laker, Johnson led the team to an NBA championship as one of the most impactful rookies in NBA history. From 1980 through 1988, Johnson led the Lakers to 5 championships in 9 seasons while battling longtime rivals such as Larry Bird and Julius Erving to capture them. In 50 career Finals games, Johnson averaged 19.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 11.7 APG. The Lakers appeared in 9 NBA Finals’ with Magic as their point guard and won 5 series’ while being swept twice.

Advantage: Michael Jordan

Finals MVP Awards

Michael Jordan: 6 (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998)

Magic Johnson: 3 (1980, 1982, 1987)

Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson have each been crowned the best player on an NBA championship team multiple times during their careers. The amazing thing about Michael Jordan’s Finals MVP awards is that no one except for him was given the award when he participated in the NBA Finals. Jordan’s best Finals series by far came in 1993 when the Bulls defeated the Suns in 6 games. Jordan averaged 41.0 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 6.3 APG to defeat Phoenix and capture his 3rd straight Finals MVP award.

Magic Johnson wasn’t the Finals MVP every time he led his team to the Finals, but he was in most of their victories. Johnson won 3 Finals MVP awards in his career, and none were more legendary than the very first one. As a rookie, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led the Lakers to the 1980 NBA Finals. Kareem would need to sit for Game 6 due to injury, with Magic stepping in and playing center for him that night. Johnson would score 42 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and dish out 7 assists to deliver the Lakers a championship and win his first Finals MVP award. Johnson is still the only player in NBA history to win the Finals MVP award as a rookie.

Advantage: Michael Jordan

MVP Awards

Michael Jordan: 5 (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998)

Magic Johnson: 3 (1987, 1989, 1990)

With 5 MVP awards in his career, it is yet another accolade that Michael Jordan ranks toward the top of the all-time list. In 4 out of the 5 seasons that Michael Jordan won the MVP award, the Bulls would go on to win the NBA championship as well. His best season as MVP came back in 1988, however, and was the lone MVP season that didn’t end in a championship. In 1988, Jordan led the league in scoring with 35.0 PPG and in steals with 3.2 SPG. He was named both the MVP and the Defensive Player of the Year while leading the Bulls to 50 wins. 

Magic Johnson had already been quite successful by the time he won his first MVP award. In 1987, Johnson was named MVP when he averaged 23.9 PPG, 6.3 RPG and led the league with 12.2 APG. He would then win 2 of the next 3 MVP awards, giving him 3 in a 4-year span. Over this time, Johnson averaged 22.1 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 12.1 APG. The Lakers would win back-to-back championships in 1987 and 1988, while Magic became the NBA’s all-time leader in APG. This 4-years stretch was easily the best 4 years of Johnson’s career and a clear example of why he was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.

Advantage: Micahel Jordan

All-NBA Team Selections

Michael Jordan: 11 (10 First Team, 1 Second Team)

Magic Johnson: 10 (9 First Team, 1 Second Team)

Being named to an All-NBA Team for a season is one of the highest honors for an individual player. It means that you were one of the very best players in your position for that season. Between Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, they have 19 All-NBA First Team Selections combined. Jordan tallied 6 straight First Team selections before his 1994 retirement and 3 straight First Teams after returning. His lone All-NBA Second Team selection came in his rookie season.

Magic Johnson completely dominated the All-NBA First Team during the 1980s. Johnson was selected to his first All-NBA Team in 1982 when he earned a Second Team nod. He was then selected to 9 straight First Teams from 1983 through 1991. During that 8-year stretch, Magic averaged 20.0 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 12.2 APG. He also helped the Lakers to 3 NBA championships and won 2 of his 3 career MVP awards. Once again, Magic falls just short of the total claimed by Michael Jordan, with another very narrow disadvantage.

Advantage: Michael Jordan

All-Star Selections

Michael Jordan: 14

Magic Johnson: 12

No surprise here as two of the most popular NBA players of their time racked up more than 10 career All-Star selections in their career. Aside from the 17 games he played in 1995 when he came from retirement, Michael Jordan was named an All-Star in every season of his career. He was selected to 7 straight All-Star games in his first 7 seasons, was selected 3 times after he came back from 1996-1998, and then again when he came back for 2002 and 2003 with the Washington Wizards. During his career, Michael Jordan was named MVP of the All-Star game 3 times.

Magic Johnson’s career was cut short due to circumstances beyond his control as was limited to just 13 NBA seasons. Before he was diagnosed with HIV, Johnson had been named an All-Star in 11 out of his 12 initial seasons in the NBA. The only season he didn’t make it on that stretch is 1981, when he played just 37 games due to injury. He would be diagnosed with HIV in 1991-92 and never be named an All-Star again in his career. Johnson was a winner of the All-Star MVP twice in his career as well.

Advantage: Michael Jordan

All-Defensive Team Selections

Michael Jordan: 9 (9 First Team)

Magic Johnson: 0

Part of the greatness of each of these players is that they were both spectacular on the defensive side of the ball as well. Michael Jordan was named to 9 All-Defensive Teams in his career, all of which were First Team selections. Jordan was named Defensive Player of the Year in 1988 when he led the NBA with 3.2 SPG. He would also go on to lead the NBA in steals in both 1990 and 1993. For his career, Jordan averaged 2.3 SPG and 0.8 BPG as one of the greatest defensive shooting guards in NBA history.

It is almost a crime that Magic Johnson was never selected to an All-Defensive Team in his career. Johnson proved almost immediately in his career that he was more than a formidable defensive player. Johnson was extremely versatile in his prime on defense. He could make opposing point guards shiver with his ability to clog passing lanes with his height and wingspan was also possessing the ability to switch onto bigger forwards in the paint. Johnson may have never been honored for his defense, but Magic could more than hold his own on that side.

Advantage: Michael Jordan

Total Win Shares

Michael Jordan: 214.0

Magic Johnson: 155.8

Win Shares is a statistic that does a pretty good job of allocating team wins to a specific player on that team. When you dive deep into the numbers, the comparison between Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson is not even close. Jordan led the NBA in total win shares 9 different times in his career. This includes 7 years straight from 1987 through 1993. He then did it again in back-to-back seasons in 1996 and 1997. When it comes to impact on winning, there is no other player in NBA history with a bigger one than Michael Jordan.

Magic Johnson’s impact on winning is nothing to ignore, either. Johnson never led the NBA in win shares, but he was extremely consistent for the entirety of his career. Johnson recorded 10.0 or more win shares in 11 out of his 13 NBA seasons, with the other 2 seasons coming in injury-filled years. Also, Johnson did lead the league in 1987 in win shares per 48 minutes with .253. Johnson’s career-high in win shares came in 1990 when he registered 16.5 total win shares.

Advantage: Michael Jordan

Career Player Efficiency Rating

Michael Jordan: 27.9

Magic Johnson: 24.1

Player Efficiency Rating, better known as PER, is a statistic invented by John Hollinger. The goal is to assign a rating to every player based on both their negative and positive contributions on the court. Michael Jordan is the NBA’s all-time leader in Career PER, and that is no surprise. Jordan impacted the stat sheet in a hundred different ways, but his scoring and defensive abilities took center stage. Once again, Jordan led the NBA in PER for 7 straight seasons from 1987 through 1993. With these stats, Jordan is easily the most efficient player in NBA history.

Magic Johnson is also one of the most impactful players in NBA history. Johnson recorded a PER of 20.0 or better in each season of his career. He maxed out with a career-high 27.0 PER in 1987 while helping the Lakers win 65 games. The way that both Magic and Jordan played the game of basketball was directly associated with breaking records and winning championships. They were both smart, skilled, and rarely was the reason for their team not being able to get the job done.

Advantage: Michael Jordan

Final Score

Michael Jordan vs. Magic Johnson 8-0

Let me start the final tally summarization with a thought that is extremely important and essential to this comparison. This comparison is not being used to show that Magic Johnson may have been “overrated” in his NBA career. As a matter of fact, Johnson seems to be underrated by modern-day NBA fans. Magic was pretty obviously directly responsible for many Lakers’ successes and triumphs from the moment he debuted in the league. The moral of this story is much, much more critical.

This comparison shows that as great and as legendary as Magic Johnson is, neither he nor anyone else is close to the greatness of Michael Jordan. Think about it. Magic Johnson is in 90.0% of people who rank the greatest players of all-time’s Top 5. He is regarded as the greatest point guard of all time and the greatest playmaker in the history of the NBA. He is definitively all of those things. Then there is Michael Jordan, who, as we showed above, is far and away above Magic Johnson as a basketball player. Of course, there are things that Magic does better than Jordan. As an all-around impactful and winning basketball player, there has never been another like Michael Jeffrey Jordan.

Next

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Magic Johnson’s Stats For Each Season: The Greatest Point Guard In NBA History