Magic Johnson vs. Billy Owens Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Billy Owens and Magic Johnson, 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.

Magic Johnson played 13 years in the NBA, 3 more than Billy Owens, who played 10. Magic Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Billy Owens had his rookie season in 1991-92. 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
	Magic Johnson	Billy Owens
Season	1979-80	1991-92
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Warriors 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		%
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
Billy Owens	80	31.4	14.3	3.0	5.0	8.0	2.4	1.1	0.8	2.2	3.5	5.9	11.1	.525	0.0	0.1	.111	2.6	3.9	.654
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Billy Owens	4	39.3	19.3	3.3	5.0	8.3	3.3	2.0	0.5	1.5	3.5	7.5	14.3	.526	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	6.8	.630

Season 2
	Magic Johnson	Billy Owens
Season	1980-81	1992-93
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	Steals Leader	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Billy Owens	37	32.5	16.5	2.9	4.2	7.1	3.9	0.9	0.8	2.9	2.8	6.7	13.3	.501	0.0	0.3	.091	3.2	4.9	.639
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Billy Owens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Magic Johnson	Billy Owens
Season	1981-82	1993-94
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Warriors 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		%
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
Billy Owens	79	34.7	15.0	2.9	5.2	8.1	4.1	1.1	0.8	2.7	3.4	6.2	12.3	.507	0.0	0.2	.200	2.5	4.1	.610
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Billy Owens	3	42.3	19.7	4.0	6.0	10.0	4.3	1.3	0.7	2.3	3.7	8.3	16.7	.500	0.0	0.3	.000	3.0	4.0	.750

Season 4
	Magic Johnson	Billy Owens
Season	1982-83	1994-95
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Miami Heat
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Billy Owens	70	32.8	14.3	2.9	4.3	7.2	3.5	1.1	0.4	2.9	2.9	5.8	11.7	.491	0.0	0.3	.091	2.8	4.5	.620
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Billy Owens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 5
	Magic Johnson	Billy Owens
Season	1983-84	1995-96
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Miami Heat, Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Kings 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		%
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
Billy Owens	62	32.0	13.0	2.3	4.3	6.6	3.3	0.8	0.6	2.6	3.1	5.2	10.9	.480	0.1	0.3	.278	2.5	4.0	.636
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Billy Owens	4	32.8	8.3	1.3	5.3	6.5	3.5	1.0	0.3	2.8	4.3	3.8	8.5	.441	0.0	1.0	.000	0.8	1.5	.500

Season 6
	Magic Johnson	Billy Owens
Season	1984-85	1996-97
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Billy Owens	66	30.2	11.0	2.0	3.9	5.9	2.8	0.9	0.4	2.0	2.8	4.5	9.7	.467	0.4	1.1	.347	1.5	2.2	.697
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Billy Owens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Magic Johnson	Billy Owens
Season	1985-86	1997-98
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Billy Owens	78	30.1	10.5	2.2	5.3	7.5	2.8	1.2	0.5	2.0	3.0	4.3	9.3	.464	0.3	0.9	.371	1.5	2.5	.589
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Billy Owens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Magic Johnson	Billy Owens
Season	1986-87	1998-99
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Billy Owens	21	21.5	7.8	1.7	2.1	3.8	1.8	0.6	0.2	1.6	1.8	3.1	7.9	.394	0.2	0.5	.455	1.3	1.7	.800
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Billy Owens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Magic Johnson	Billy Owens
Season	1987-88	1999-00
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Billy Owens	62	21.0	6.0	1.6	3.3	4.9	1.6	0.5	0.3	1.4	2.7	2.4	5.8	.419	0.2	0.5	.324	1.0	1.7	.594
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Billy Owens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 10
	Magic Johnson	Billy Owens
Season	1988-89	2000-01
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Billy Owens	45	17.6	4.4	1.9	2.7	4.6	1.2	0.7	0.3	0.9	2.1	2.0	5.1	.383	0.1	0.4	.150	0.4	0.9	.475
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Billy Owens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 11
	Magic Johnson	Billy Owens
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	-

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Billy Owens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Billy Owens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 12
	Magic Johnson	Billy Owens
Season	1990-91	-
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	-
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	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		%
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
Billy Owens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Billy Owens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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