Magic Johnson vs. Gus Williams Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Gus Williams 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 / 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.

Magic Johnson played 13 years in the NBA, 2 more than Gus Williams, who played 11. Magic Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Gus Williams had his rookie season in 1975-76. 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
Gus Williams	11	10	1975-76 to 1986-87

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


Rookie Season
	Magic Johnson	Gus Williams
Season	1979-80	1975-76
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 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	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
Gus Williams	77	22.4	11.7	0.8	1.3	2.1	3.1	1.8	0.3	-	1.9	4.7	11.1	.428	-	-	-	2.2	3.0	.742

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
Gus Williams	11	16.2	6.7	0.5	0.8	1.3	2.4	1.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.7	7.7	.353	-	-	-	1.3	1.9	.667


Season 2
	Magic Johnson	Gus Williams
Season	1980-81	1976-77
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	Steals Leader	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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	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
Gus Williams	82	23.5	9.3	0.9	2.0	2.8	3.6	1.5	0.2	-	2.7	4.0	8.5	.464	-	-	-	1.4	1.8	.747

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
Gus Williams	10	18.4	8.8	0.9	0.6	1.5	2.5	0.8	0.1	-	3.0	3.5	7.0	.500	-	-	-	1.8	2.1	.857


Season 3
	Magic Johnson	Gus Williams
Season	1981-82	1977-78
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Supersonics 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	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
Gus Williams	79	32.6	18.1	1.1	2.2	3.2	3.7	2.3	0.5	2.4	2.5	7.6	16.9	.451	-	-	-	2.9	3.5	.817

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
Gus Williams	22	31.9	18.3	1.4	2.5	3.9	4.0	2.0	0.5	2.5	3.2	7.4	15.5	.477	-	-	-	3.5	4.8	.726


Season 4
	Magic Johnson	Gus Williams
Season	1982-83	1978-79
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Seattle Supersonics
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
Gus Williams	76	29.8	19.2	1.5	1.8	3.2	4.0	2.1	0.4	2.5	2.1	8.0	16.1	.495	-	-	-	3.2	4.2	.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
Gus Williams	17	36.4	26.6	2.1	2.0	4.1	3.7	2.0	0.6	2.5	2.5	10.7	22.5	.476	-	-	-	5.3	7.5	.709


Season 5
	Magic Johnson	Gus Williams
Season	1983-84	1979-80
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Supersonics 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	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
Gus Williams	82	36.2	22.1	1.5	1.8	3.4	4.8	2.4	0.5	2.2	2.0	9.0	18.7	.482	0.1	0.4	.194	4.0	5.1	.788

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
Gus Williams	15	37.6	23.7	2.0	2.0	4.0	5.6	2.3	0.5	3.1	2.5	9.7	18.9	.514	0.1	0.3	.200	4.1	5.7	.721

Note: Gus Williams didn't play in 1980-81.


Season 6
	Magic Johnson	Gus Williams
Season	1984-85	1981-82
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Supersonics 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
Gus Williams	80	36.0	23.4	1.2	1.9	3.1	6.9	2.2	0.5	2.5	2.0	9.7	19.9	.486	0.1	0.5	.225	4.0	5.5	.734

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
Gus Williams	8	39.4	26.3	1.5	1.8	3.3	8.1	1.6	0.6	2.3	1.6	10.3	23.3	.441	0.3	0.8	.333	5.5	7.0	.786


Season 7
	Magic Johnson	Gus Williams
Season	1985-86	1982-83
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Supersonics 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	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
Gus Williams	80	34.5	20.0	0.9	1.7	2.6	8.0	2.3	0.3	2.9	1.5	8.3	17.3	.477	0.0	0.5	.047	3.5	4.6	.751

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
Gus Williams	2	40.5	32.5	2.0	1.5	3.5	4.0	2.5	0.0	3.0	2.5	13.0	23.5	.553	0.0	1.0	.000	6.5	7.5	.867


Season 8
	Magic Johnson	Gus Williams
Season	1986-87	1983-84
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Supersonics 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	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
Gus Williams	80	35.2	18.7	0.8	1.7	2.6	8.4	2.4	0.3	2.9	1.9	7.5	16.3	.458	0.1	0.3	.160	3.7	5.0	.750

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
Gus Williams	5	43.0	23.4	0.4	2.0	2.4	11.4	1.6	0.6	2.8	1.4	10.0	19.6	.510	0.4	1.2	.333	3.0	4.2	.714


Season 9
	Magic Johnson	Gus Williams
Season	1987-88	1984-85
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bullets 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		%
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
Gus Williams	79	37.5	20.0	0.9	1.6	2.5	7.7	2.3	0.4	2.7	2.0	8.1	18.8	.430	0.6	2.2	.290	3.2	4.4	.725

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
Gus Williams	4	39.8	18.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	5.0	1.3	0.3	3.3	1.3	7.5	17.8	.423	0.8	2.5	.300	2.3	3.0	.750


Season 10
	Magic Johnson	Gus Williams
Season	1988-89	1985-86
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Bullets 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		%
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
Gus Williams	77	29.7	13.5	0.7	1.5	2.2	5.9	1.2	0.2	2.1	1.5	5.6	13.2	.428	0.4	1.5	.259	1.8	2.4	.734

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
Gus Williams	5	39.8	18.2	0.8	1.2	2.0	6.6	2.2	0.0	1.4	2.2	7.6	15.8	.481	0.2	2.0	.100	2.8	3.6	.778


Season 11
	Magic Johnson	Gus Williams
Season	1989-90	1986-87
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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
Gus Williams	33	14.6	4.2	0.2	1.0	1.2	4.2	0.5	0.2	1.6	1.6	1.6	4.4	.363	0.2	0.5	.278	0.8	1.2	.675

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
Gus Williams	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Magic Johnson	Gus Williams
Season	1990-91	-
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	-
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	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		%
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
Gus Williams	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Gus Williams	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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


Season 13
	Magic Johnson	Gus Williams
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
Gus Williams	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Gus Williams	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Magic Johnson vs. Gus Williams Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Gus Williams 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