Al Bianchi vs. Magic Johnson Season by Season Comparison

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

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.

Al Bianchi played 10 years in the NBA, 3 less than Magic Johnson, who played 13. Al Bianchi had the first of his seasons in 1956-57, 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.

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13
Rookie Season
	Al Bianchi	Magic Johnson
Season	1956-57	1979-80
Team	Syracuse Nationals	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nationals Lost East Div Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Al Bianchi	68	23.2	8.3	-	-	3.3	1.6	-	-	-	2.9	2.9	8.3	.351	-	-	-	2.4	3.5	.690
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		%
Al Bianchi	5	19.4	6.4	-	-	3.0	1.6	-	-	-	3.2	2.4	7.6	.316	-	-	-	1.6	2.4	.667
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
	Al Bianchi	Magic Johnson
Season	1957-58	1980-81
Team	Syracuse Nationals	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Steals Leader
Playoffs	Nationals Lost East Div Semis	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		%
Al Bianchi	69	20.6	8.3	-	-	3.2	1.7	-	-	-	2.7	3.1	9.1	.344	-	-	-	2.0	3.0	.683
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		%
Al Bianchi	2	18.5	5.5	-	-	3.5	1.0	-	-	-	2.0	2.0	6.0	.333	-	-	-	1.5	4.0	.375
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
	Al Bianchi	Magic Johnson
Season	1958-59	1981-82
Team	Syracuse Nationals	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Steals Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nationals Lost East Div Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Al Bianchi	72	24.7	10.0	-	-	2.8	2.2	-	-	-	3.6	4.0	10.5	.377	-	-	-	2.1	2.9	.723
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		%
Al Bianchi	9	21.3	9.1	-	-	3.2	2.8	-	-	-	4.6	3.8	8.2	.459	-	-	-	1.6	2.4	.636
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
	Al Bianchi	Magic Johnson
Season	1959-60	1982-83
Team	Syracuse Nationals	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nationals Lost East Div Semis	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		%
Al Bianchi	69	18.2	7.7	-	-	2.6	2.4	-	-	-	3.3	3.1	8.3	.366	-	-	-	1.6	2.2	.703
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		%
Al Bianchi	2	9.0	0.0	-	-	1.5	1.5	-	-	-	1.0	0.0	4.0	.000	-	-	-	0.0	0.0	-
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
	Al Bianchi	Magic Johnson
Season	1960-61	1983-84
Team	Syracuse Nationals	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nationals Lost East Div 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		%
Al Bianchi	52	12.8	5.7	-	-	2.0	1.8	-	-	-	2.6	2.3	6.6	.345	-	-	-	1.2	1.7	.690
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		%
Al Bianchi	7	12.9	6.0	-	-	1.0	0.7	-	-	-	2.9	2.4	6.6	.370	-	-	-	1.1	1.3	.889
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
	Al Bianchi	Magic Johnson
Season	1961-62	1984-85
Team	Syracuse Nationals	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nationals Lost East Div Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Al Bianchi	80	24.1	10.3	-	-	3.5	3.3	-	-	-	2.9	4.2	10.6	.397	-	-	-	1.9	2.8	.697
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		%
Al Bianchi	5	36.8	14.2	-	-	5.2	3.6	-	-	-	3.4	5.4	13.8	.391	-	-	-	3.4	4.0	.850
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
	Al Bianchi	Magic Johnson
Season	1962-63	1985-86
Team	Syracuse Nationals	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nationals Lost East Div Semis	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		%
Al Bianchi	61	19.0	8.6	-	-	2.2	2.8	-	-	-	2.7	3.3	7.8	.424	-	-	-	2.0	2.7	.732
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		%
Al Bianchi	5	15.4	6.8	-	-	1.6	0.4	-	-	-	3.4	3.0	6.8	.441	-	-	-	0.8	1.4	.571
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
	Al Bianchi	Magic Johnson
Season	1963-64	1986-87
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Div Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Al Bianchi	78	18.4	8.0	-	-	1.9	1.9	-	-	-	3.2	3.3	8.8	.376	-	-	-	1.4	1.8	.773
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		%
Al Bianchi	5	13.6	5.4	-	-	0.8	0.8	-	-	-	2.4	2.4	5.8	.414	-	-	-	0.6	0.8	.750
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
	Al Bianchi	Magic Johnson
Season	1964-65	1987-88
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Div Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Al Bianchi	60	18.6	6.7	-	-	1.6	2.3	-	-	-	3.0	2.9	8.1	.360	-	-	-	0.9	1.3	.711
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		%
Al Bianchi	11	28.0	9.5	-	-	1.5	2.7	-	-	-	4.1	4.1	10.7	.381	-	-	-	1.3	1.9	.667
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
	Al Bianchi	Magic Johnson
Season	1965-66	1988-89
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Div 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		%
Al Bianchi	78	16.8	6.3	-	-	1.7	1.7	-	-	-	3.0	2.7	7.2	.382	-	-	-	0.8	1.3	.673
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		%
Al Bianchi	5	12.8	9.0	-	-	2.0	0.8	-	-	-	3.8	3.6	8.6	.419	-	-	-	1.8	2.4	.750
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
	Al Bianchi	Magic Johnson
Season	-	1989-90
Team	-	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	-	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		%
Al Bianchi	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Al Bianchi	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Al Bianchi	Magic Johnson
Season	-	1990-91
Team	-	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	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		%
Al Bianchi	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Al Bianchi	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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.