Magic Johnson vs. Cazzie Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Cazzie Russell 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season

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, 1 more than Cazzie Russell, who played 12. Magic Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Cazzie Russell had his rookie season in 1966-67. 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
Magic Johnson	13	13	1979-80 to 1995-96
Cazzie Russell	12	8	1966-67 to 1977-78

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


Rookie Season
	Magic Johnson	Cazzie Russell
Season	1979-80	1966-67
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks Lost East Div 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	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
Cazzie Russell	77	22.0	11.3	-	-	3.3	2.4	-	-	-	2.3	4.5	10.2	.436	-	-	-	2.3	3.0	.785

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
Cazzie Russell	4	22.3	15.5	-	-	4.8	2.8	-	-	-	4.0	6.5	16.5	.394	-	-	-	2.5	3.3	.769


Season 2
	Magic Johnson	Cazzie Russell
Season	1980-81	1967-68
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Steals Leader	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Knicks Lost East Div 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	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
Cazzie Russell	82	28.0	16.9	-	-	4.6	2.4	-	-	-	2.7	6.7	14.5	.462	-	-	-	3.4	4.3	.808

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
Cazzie Russell	6	34.8	21.7	-	-	3.8	1.7	-	-	-	2.7	9.2	16.3	.561	-	-	-	3.3	4.0	.833


Season 3
	Magic Johnson	Cazzie Russell
Season	1981-82	1968-69
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks Lost East Div 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	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
Cazzie Russell	50	32.9	18.3	-	-	4.2	2.3	-	-	-	2.8	7.2	16.1	.450	-	-	-	3.8	4.8	.796

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
Cazzie Russell	5	7.2	2.4	-	-	1.0	0.2	-	-	-	0.8	1.0	4.2	.238	-	-	-	0.4	0.4	1.000


Season 4
	Magic Johnson	Cazzie Russell
Season	1982-83	1969-70
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	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		%
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
Cazzie Russell	78	20.0	11.5	-	-	3.0	1.7	-	-	-	1.8	4.9	9.9	.498	-	-	-	1.6	2.1	.775

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
Cazzie Russell	19	16.1	9.4	-	-	2.5	0.8	-	-	-	1.6	4.2	8.7	.485	-	-	-	0.9	1.0	.947


Season 5
	Magic Johnson	Cazzie Russell
Season	1983-84	1970-71
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Knicks Lost East Conf 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	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
Cazzie Russell	57	18.5	9.2	-	-	3.4	1.4	-	-	-	1.3	3.8	8.8	.429	-	-	-	1.6	2.1	.773

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
Cazzie Russell	11	10.9	5.6	-	-	2.0	0.7	-	-	-	1.3	2.3	5.8	.391	-	-	-	1.1	1.1	1.000


Season 6
	Magic Johnson	Cazzie Russell
Season	1984-85	1971-72
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Warriors 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	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
Cazzie Russell	79	36.7	21.4	-	-	5.4	3.1	-	-	-	2.2	8.7	19.2	.455	-	-	-	4.0	4.8	.833

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
Cazzie Russell	5	32.2	14.2	-	-	4.4	1.8	-	-	-	2.6	6.2	12.6	.492	-	-	-	1.8	2.4	.750


Season 7
	Magic Johnson	Cazzie Russell
Season	1985-86	1972-73
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Warriors Lost West Conf 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	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
Cazzie Russell	80	30.4	15.7	-	-	4.4	2.3	-	-	-	2.1	6.8	14.8	.458	-	-	-	2.2	2.5	.864

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
Cazzie Russell	11	23.9	14.8	-	-	3.3	1.5	-	-	-	2.2	6.5	13.4	.490	-	-	-	1.7	2.0	.864


Season 8
	Magic Johnson	Cazzie Russell
Season	1986-87	1973-74
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Golden State Warriors
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
Cazzie Russell	82	31.4	20.5	1.7	2.6	4.3	2.3	0.7	0.2	-	2.4	9.0	18.7	.482	-	-	-	2.5	3.0	.835

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
Cazzie Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Magic Johnson	Cazzie Russell
Season	1987-88	1974-75
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	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
Cazzie Russell	40	26.4	15.7	0.9	2.0	2.9	2.7	0.7	0.1	-	1.4	6.6	14.5	.455	-	-	-	2.5	2.8	.894

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
Cazzie Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Magic Johnson	Cazzie Russell
Season	1988-89	1975-76
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
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
Cazzie Russell	74	22.0	11.8	0.7	1.8	2.5	1.6	0.7	0.0	-	1.6	5.0	10.8	.463	-	-	-	1.8	2.0	.892

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
Cazzie Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Magic Johnson	Cazzie Russell
Season	1989-90	1976-77
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 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		%
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
Cazzie Russell	82	31.5	16.4	1.0	2.5	3.6	2.6	1.0	0.1	-	2.0	7.0	14.4	.490	-	-	-	2.3	2.7	.858

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
Cazzie Russell	11	34.7	15.8	2.0	2.4	4.4	2.3	1.5	0.1	-	3.0	5.9	14.3	.414	-	-	-	4.0	4.5	.880


Season 12
	Magic Johnson	Cazzie Russell
Season	1990-91	1977-78
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	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	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
Cazzie Russell	36	21.9	8.8	0.9	1.4	2.3	1.7	0.5	0.1	1.0	1.8	3.7	8.4	.438	-	-	-	1.4	1.6	.860

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
Cazzie Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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


Season 13
	Magic Johnson	Cazzie Russell
Season	1995-96	-
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	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		%
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
Cazzie Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Cazzie Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Magic Johnson vs. Cazzie Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Cazzie Russell 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.

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