Adrian Dantley vs. Magic Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Magic Johnson and Adrian Dantley, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Games against each other

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Adrian Dantley played 15 years in the NBA, 2 more than Magic Johnson, who played 13. Adrian Dantley had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, while Magic Johnson had his rookie season in 1979-80. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achivements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Adrian Dantley	15	7	1976-77 to 1990-91
Magic Johnson	13	13	1979-80 to 1995-96

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15


Rookie Season
	Adrian Dantley	Magic Johnson
Season	1976-77	1979-80
Team	Buffalo Braves	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	77	36.6	20.3	3.3	4.4	7.6	1.9	1.2	0.2	-	2.8	7.1	13.6	.520	-	-	-	6.2	7.6	.818
Magic Johnson	77	36.3	18.0	2.2	5.6	7.7	7.3	2.4	0.5	4.0	2.8	6.5	12.3	.530	0.1	0.4	.226	4.9	6.0	.810

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Magic Johnson	16	41.1	18.3	3.3	7.3	10.5	9.4	3.1	0.4	4.1	2.9	6.4	12.4	.518	0.1	0.5	.250	5.3	6.6	.802


Season 2
	Adrian Dantley	Magic Johnson
Season	1977-78	1980-81
Team	Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Steals Leader
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	79	37.1	21.5	3.4	4.5	7.8	3.2	1.5	0.3	2.9	2.9	7.3	14.3	.512	-	-	-	6.8	8.6	.796
Magic Johnson	37	37.1	21.6	2.7	5.9	8.6	8.6	3.4	0.7	3.9	2.7	8.4	15.9	.532	0.1	0.5	.176	4.6	6.1	.760

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	3	34.7	17.0	3.0	5.3	8.3	3.7	1.7	1.0	2.0	3.0	6.7	11.7	.571	-	-	-	3.7	5.7	.647
Magic Johnson	3	42.3	17.0	2.7	11.0	13.7	7.0	2.7	1.0	3.7	4.7	6.3	16.3	.388	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	6.7	.650


Season 3
	Adrian Dantley	Magic Johnson
Season	1978-79	1981-82
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Steals Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	60	29.6	17.3	2.2	3.5	5.7	2.3	1.1	0.2	2.6	2.7	6.2	12.2	.510	-	-	-	4.9	5.7	.854
Magic Johnson	78	38.3	18.6	3.2	6.4	9.6	9.5	2.7	0.4	3.7	2.9	7.1	13.3	.537	0.1	0.4	.207	4.2	5.6	.760

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	8	29.5	17.6	1.3	2.9	4.1	1.4	0.8	0.1	2.4	3.0	6.3	11.1	.562	-	-	-	5.1	6.5	.788
Magic Johnson	14	40.1	17.4	3.9	7.4	11.3	9.3	2.9	0.2	3.1	3.6	5.9	11.2	.529	0.0	0.3	.000	5.5	6.6	.828


Season 4
	Adrian Dantley	Magic Johnson
Season	1979-80	1982-83
Team	Utah Jazz	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	68	39.3	28.0	2.7	4.9	7.6	2.8	1.4	0.2	3.4	3.1	10.7	18.6	.576	0.0	0.0	.000	6.5	7.7	.842
Magic Johnson	79	36.8	16.8	2.7	5.9	8.6	10.5	2.2	0.6	3.8	2.5	6.5	11.8	.548	0.0	0.3	.000	3.8	4.8	.800

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Magic Johnson	15	42.9	17.9	3.4	5.1	8.5	12.8	2.3	0.8	4.3	3.3	6.7	13.7	.485	0.0	0.7	.000	4.5	5.4	.840


Season 5
	Adrian Dantley	Magic Johnson
Season	1980-81	1983-84
Team	Utah Jazz	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	-	Assists Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	80	42.7	30.7	2.4	4.0	6.4	4.0	1.4	0.2	3.5	3.1	11.4	20.3	.559	0.0	0.1	.286	7.9	9.8	.806
Magic Johnson	67	38.3	17.6	1.5	5.9	7.3	13.1	2.2	0.7	4.6	2.5	6.6	11.6	.565	0.1	0.4	.207	4.3	5.3	.810

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Magic Johnson	21	39.9	18.2	1.2	5.4	6.6	13.5	2.0	1.0	3.8	3.4	7.2	13.0	.551	0.0	0.3	.000	3.8	4.8	.800


Season 6
	Adrian Dantley	Magic Johnson
Season	1981-82	1984-85
Team	Utah Jazz	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	81	39.8	30.3	2.9	3.5	6.3	4.0	1.2	0.2	3.7	3.1	11.2	19.6	.570	0.0	0.0	.333	8.0	10.1	.792
Magic Johnson	77	36.1	18.3	1.2	5.0	6.2	12.6	1.5	0.3	4.0	2.0	6.5	11.7	.561	0.1	0.5	.189	5.1	6.0	.843

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Magic Johnson	19	36.2	17.5	1.0	6.1	7.1	15.2	1.7	0.2	4.0	2.5	6.1	11.9	.513	0.1	0.4	.143	5.3	6.2	.847


Season 7
	Adrian Dantley	Magic Johnson
Season	1982-83	1985-86
Team	Utah Jazz	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	22	40.3	30.7	2.6	3.7	6.4	4.8	0.9	0.0	3.7	2.8	10.6	18.3	.580	0.0	0.0	-	9.5	11.3	.847
Magic Johnson	72	35.8	18.8	1.2	4.7	5.9	12.6	1.6	0.2	3.8	1.8	6.7	12.8	.526	0.1	0.6	.233	5.3	6.0	.871

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Magic Johnson	14	38.6	21.6	1.5	5.6	7.1	15.1	1.9	0.1	3.2	3.1	7.9	14.6	.537	0.0	0.8	.000	5.9	7.6	.766


Season 8
	Adrian Dantley	Magic Johnson
Season	1983-84	1986-87
Team	Utah Jazz	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	-	Assists Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	79	37.8	30.6	2.3	3.4	5.7	3.9	0.8	0.1	3.3	2.5	10.2	18.2	.558	0.0	0.1	.250	10.3	12.0	.859
Magic Johnson	80	36.3	23.9	1.5	4.8	6.3	12.2	1.7	0.5	3.8	2.1	8.5	16.4	.522	0.1	0.5	.205	6.7	7.9	.848

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	11	41.3	32.2	3.4	4.2	7.5	4.2	0.9	0.1	3.5	2.7	10.6	21.1	.504	0.0	0.0	-	10.9	12.6	.863
Magic Johnson	18	37.0	21.8	1.6	6.2	7.7	12.2	1.7	0.4	2.8	2.1	8.1	15.1	.539	0.1	0.6	.200	5.4	6.6	.831


Season 9
	Adrian Dantley	Magic Johnson
Season	1984-85	1987-88
Team	Utah Jazz	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	55	35.8	26.6	2.7	3.2	5.9	3.4	1.0	0.1	3.1	2.4	9.3	17.5	.531	0.0	0.0	-	8.0	9.9	.804
Magic Johnson	72	36.6	19.6	1.2	5.0	6.2	11.9	1.6	0.2	3.7	2.0	6.8	13.8	.492	0.2	0.8	.196	5.8	6.8	.853

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	10	39.8	25.3	2.5	5.0	7.5	2.0	1.6	0.0	3.6	3.9	7.9	15.1	.523	0.0	0.1	.000	9.5	12.2	.779
Magic Johnson	24	40.2	19.9	1.3	4.1	5.4	12.6	1.4	0.2	3.5	2.5	7.0	13.7	.514	0.3	0.6	.500	5.5	6.5	.852


Season 10
	Adrian Dantley	Magic Johnson
Season	1985-86	1988-89
Team	Utah Jazz	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	76	36.1	29.8	2.3	2.9	5.2	3.5	0.8	0.1	3.0	2.7	10.8	19.1	.563	0.0	0.1	.091	8.3	10.5	.791
Magic Johnson	77	37.5	22.5	1.4	6.4	7.9	12.8	1.8	0.3	4.1	2.2	7.5	14.8	.509	0.8	2.4	.314	6.7	7.3	.911

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Magic Johnson	14	37.0	18.4	1.1	4.9	5.9	11.8	1.9	0.2	3.8	2.1	6.1	12.4	.489	0.7	2.5	.286	5.6	6.1	.907


Season 11
	Adrian Dantley	Magic Johnson
Season	1986-87	1989-90
Team	Detroit Pistons	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	81	33.8	21.5	1.3	2.8	4.1	2.0	0.8	0.1	2.2	2.4	7.4	13.9	.534	0.0	0.1	.167	6.7	8.2	.812
Magic Johnson	79	37.2	22.3	1.6	5.0	6.6	11.5	1.7	0.4	3.7	2.1	6.9	14.4	.480	1.3	3.5	.384	7.2	8.1	.890

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	15	33.3	20.5	1.9	2.6	4.5	2.3	0.9	0.0	2.2	2.4	7.4	13.7	.539	0.0	0.0	-	5.7	7.4	.775
Magic Johnson	9	41.8	25.2	1.3	5.0	6.3	12.8	1.2	0.1	4.0	3.1	8.4	17.2	.490	0.6	2.8	.200	7.8	8.8	.886


Season 12
	Adrian Dantley	Magic Johnson
Season	1987-88	1990-91
Team	Detroit Pistons	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost NBA Finals	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	69	31.1	20.0	1.2	2.1	3.3	2.5	0.6	0.1	2.0	2.1	6.4	12.5	.514	0.0	0.0	.000	7.1	8.3	.860
Magic Johnson	79	37.1	19.4	1.3	5.6	7.0	12.5	1.3	0.2	4.0	1.9	5.9	12.4	.477	1.0	3.2	.320	6.6	7.3	.906

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	23	35.0	19.4	1.6	3.0	4.7	2.0	0.8	0.0	2.2	2.2	6.7	12.7	.524	0.0	0.1	.000	6.1	7.7	.787
Magic Johnson	19	43.3	21.8	1.2	6.9	8.1	12.6	1.2	0.0	4.1	2.3	6.2	14.1	.440	1.1	3.7	.296	8.3	9.4	.882

Note: Magic Johnson didn't play in 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94 and 1994-95.


Season 13
	Adrian Dantley	Magic Johnson
Season	1988-89	1995-96
Team	Detroit Pistons, Dallas Mavericks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	73	33.2	19.2	1.6	2.7	4.3	2.3	0.6	0.2	2.2	2.5	6.4	13.1	.493	0.0	0.0	.000	6.3	7.8	.810
Magic Johnson	32	29.9	14.6	1.3	4.5	5.7	6.9	0.8	0.4	3.2	1.5	4.3	9.2	.466	0.7	1.8	.379	5.4	6.3	.856

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Magic Johnson	4	33.8	15.3	2.0	6.5	8.5	6.5	0.0	0.0	3.0	0.8	3.8	9.8	.385	0.8	2.3	.333	7.0	8.3	.848


Season 14
	Adrian Dantley	Magic Johnson
Season	1989-90	-
Team	Dallas Mavericks	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	45	28.9	14.7	1.7	2.1	3.8	1.8	0.4	0.2	1.7	2.2	5.1	10.8	.477	0.0	0.0	.000	4.4	5.6	.787
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 15
	Adrian Dantley	Magic Johnson
Season	1990-91	-
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf 1st Rd	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	10	12.6	5.7	0.8	0.5	1.3	0.9	0.5	0.0	0.6	0.8	1.9	5.0	.380	0.1	0.3	.333	1.8	2.6	.692
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Adrian Dantley	3	6.3	1.7	0.7	0.7	1.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.7	0.0	0.3	2.3	.143	0.0	0.0	-	1.0	1.3	.750
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Adrian Dantley vs. Magic Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Magic Johnson and Adrian Dantley, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13

Season 14

Season 15