Magic Johnson vs. Paul Westphal Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Paul Westphal 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, 1 more than Paul Westphal, who played 12. Magic Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Paul Westphal had his rookie season in 1972-73. 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
Paul Westphal	12	9	1972-73 to 1983-84

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


Rookie Season
	Magic Johnson	Paul Westphal
Season	1979-80	1972-73
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics 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	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
Paul Westphal	60	8.0	4.1	-	-	1.1	1.2	-	-	-	1.5	1.5	3.5	.420	-	-	-	1.1	1.4	.779

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
Paul Westphal	11	9.9	3.9	-	-	0.6	0.8	-	-	-	2.2	1.7	3.5	.487	-	-	-	0.5	0.6	.714


Season 2
	Magic Johnson	Paul Westphal
Season	1980-81	1973-74
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Steals Leader	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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	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
Paul Westphal	82	14.2	7.2	0.6	1.1	1.7	2.1	0.5	0.4	-	2.1	2.9	5.8	.501	-	-	-	1.4	1.9	.732

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
Paul Westphal	18	13.4	5.7	0.3	0.8	1.2	1.7	0.4	0.1	-	2.1	2.6	5.6	.460	-	-	-	0.6	0.8	.733


Season 3
	Magic Johnson	Paul Westphal
Season	1981-82	1974-75
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics 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	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
Paul Westphal	82	19.3	9.8	0.5	1.5	2.0	2.9	1.0	0.4	-	2.3	4.2	8.2	.510	-	-	-	1.5	1.9	.763

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
Paul Westphal	11	16.6	8.0	0.5	0.7	1.2	2.9	0.5	0.2	-	1.9	3.5	7.4	.469	-	-	-	1.1	1.6	.667


Season 4
	Magic Johnson	Paul Westphal
Season	1982-83	1975-76
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Suns 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	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
Paul Westphal	82	36.1	20.5	0.9	2.3	3.2	5.4	2.6	0.5	-	2.7	8.0	16.2	.494	-	-	-	4.5	5.4	.830

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
Paul Westphal	19	36.1	21.1	0.7	1.7	2.5	5.1	1.8	0.5	-	3.2	8.7	17.0	.511	-	-	-	3.7	4.9	.763


Season 5
	Magic Johnson	Paul Westphal
Season	1983-84	1976-77
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	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	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
Paul Westphal	81	32.1	21.3	0.7	1.6	2.3	5.7	1.7	0.3	-	2.1	8.4	16.3	.518	-	-	-	4.5	5.4	.825

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
Paul Westphal	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Magic Johnson	Paul Westphal
Season	1984-85	1977-78
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Suns 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	36.1	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
Paul Westphal	80	31.0	25.2	0.5	1.5	2.1	5.5	1.7	0.4	3.5	2.0	10.1	19.6	.516	-	-	-	5.0	6.1	.813

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
Paul Westphal	2	33.0	26.0	1.5	1.5	3.0	9.5	0.5	0.0	2.5	2.0	11.0	23.5	.468	-	-	-	4.0	4.5	.889


Season 7
	Magic Johnson	Paul Westphal
Season	1985-86	1978-79
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Suns 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	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
Paul Westphal	81	32.6	24.0	0.4	1.5	2.0	6.5	1.4	0.3	2.9	2.0	9.9	18.5	.535	-	-	-	4.2	5.0	.837

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
Paul Westphal	15	35.6	22.4	0.5	1.7	2.2	4.3	1.0	0.3	2.5	2.5	9.5	19.1	.495	-	-	-	3.5	4.4	.788


Season 8
	Magic Johnson	Paul Westphal
Season	1986-87	1979-80
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Suns 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		%
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
Paul Westphal	82	32.5	21.9	0.6	1.7	2.3	5.1	1.5	0.4	2.5	2.0	8.4	16.1	.525	0.3	1.1	.280	4.7	5.4	.862

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
Paul Westphal	8	31.6	20.9	0.3	1.0	1.3	3.9	1.4	0.4	1.6	2.5	8.6	17.8	.486	0.1	1.5	.083	3.5	4.0	.875


Season 9
	Magic Johnson	Paul Westphal
Season	1987-88	1980-81
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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	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
Paul Westphal	36	29.9	16.7	0.3	1.6	1.9	4.1	1.3	0.4	2.2	1.9	6.1	13.9	.442	0.2	0.7	.240	4.3	5.1	.832

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
Paul Westphal	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Magic Johnson	Paul Westphal
Season	1988-89	1981-82
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	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	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
Paul Westphal	18	25.1	11.7	0.5	0.7	1.2	5.6	1.1	0.4	2.6	3.4	4.8	10.8	.443	0.1	0.4	.250	2.0	2.6	.766

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
Paul Westphal	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Magic Johnson	Paul Westphal
Season	1989-90	1982-83
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

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
Paul Westphal	80	24.7	10.0	0.2	1.2	1.4	5.5	1.1	0.2	2.5	2.3	4.0	8.7	.459	0.2	0.6	.292	1.9	2.3	.804

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
Paul Westphal	6	26.0	9.5	0.0	1.3	1.3	5.7	0.3	0.3	1.5	2.2	3.7	8.3	.440	0.5	1.3	.375	1.7	2.2	.769


Season 12
	Magic Johnson	Paul Westphal
Season	1990-91	1983-84
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Suns 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	37.1	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
Paul Westphal	59	14.7	7.0	0.1	0.6	0.7	2.5	0.7	0.1	1.3	1.2	2.4	5.3	.460	0.1	0.4	.269	2.0	2.4	.824

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
Paul Westphal	17	13.1	5.3	0.2	0.3	0.5	2.2	0.7	0.0	1.4	1.4	1.8	4.7	.375	0.1	0.5	.222	1.6	1.9	.875

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


Season 13
	Magic Johnson	Paul Westphal
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
Paul Westphal	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Paul Westphal	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Magic Johnson vs. Paul Westphal Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Paul Westphal 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