Magic Johnson vs. Steve Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Steve Smith 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 less than Steve Smith, who played 14. Magic Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Steve Smith 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.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Magic Johnson	13	13	1979-80 to 1995-96
Steve Smith	14	13	1991-92 to 2004-05

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14


Rookie Season
	Magic Johnson	Steve Smith
Season	1979-80	1991-92
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Miami Heat
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Heat Lost East 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
Steve Smith	61	29.6	12.0	1.3	1.8	3.1	4.6	1.0	0.3	2.5	2.7	4.9	10.7	.454	0.7	2.0	.320	1.6	2.1	.748

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
Steve Smith	3	33.3	16.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	5.0	1.3	0.3	1.0	0.7	6.0	11.3	.529	2.3	3.7	.636	1.7	2.0	.833


Season 2
	Magic Johnson	Steve Smith
Season	1980-81	1992-93
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Miami Heat
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
Steve Smith	48	33.5	16.0	1.2	2.9	4.1	5.6	1.0	0.3	2.7	3.1	5.8	12.9	.451	1.1	2.8	.402	3.2	4.1	.787

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
Steve Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Magic Johnson	Steve Smith
Season	1981-82	1993-94
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Miami Heat
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Heat Lost East 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
Steve Smith	78	35.6	17.3	2.0	2.5	4.5	5.1	1.1	0.4	2.6	2.8	6.3	13.8	.456	1.2	3.4	.347	3.5	4.2	.835

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
Steve Smith	5	38.4	19.2	3.4	2.6	6.0	2.2	0.8	0.4	2.0	2.4	6.6	16.0	.413	1.8	4.4	.409	4.2	5.0	.840


Season 4
	Magic Johnson	Steve Smith
Season	1982-83	1994-95
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Hawks Lost East 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	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
Steve Smith	80	33.3	16.3	1.3	2.2	3.5	3.4	0.8	0.4	1.9	2.8	5.4	12.6	.426	1.7	5.2	.329	3.9	4.6	.841

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
Steve Smith	3	36.0	19.0	0.3	2.3	2.7	2.0	2.0	0.3	1.0	4.7	5.7	14.3	.395	2.3	6.0	.389	5.3	6.3	.842


Season 5
	Magic Johnson	Steve Smith
Season	1983-84	1995-96
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Hawks Lost East 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	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
Steve Smith	80	35.7	18.1	1.6	2.5	4.1	2.8	0.9	0.2	1.9	2.6	6.2	14.3	.432	1.8	5.3	.331	4.0	4.8	.826

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
Steve Smith	10	42.1	21.7	1.5	2.6	4.1	3.2	1.3	1.3	1.6	3.1	7.5	17.1	.439	2.5	6.1	.410	4.2	5.2	.808


Season 6
	Magic Johnson	Steve Smith
Season	1984-85	1996-97
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost East 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
Steve Smith	72	39.1	20.1	1.3	2.1	3.3	4.2	0.9	0.3	2.4	2.4	6.8	15.9	.429	1.8	5.4	.335	4.6	5.5	.847

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
Steve Smith	10	42.0	18.9	1.2	2.7	3.9	1.7	0.4	0.1	2.8	3.8	5.5	13.9	.396	1.8	5.5	.327	6.1	7.4	.824


Season 7
	Magic Johnson	Steve Smith
Season	1985-86	1997-98
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Hawks Lost East 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	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
Steve Smith	73	39.1	20.1	1.8	2.4	4.2	4.0	1.0	0.4	2.4	3.0	6.7	15.1	.444	1.3	3.8	.351	5.3	6.2	.855

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
Steve Smith	4	40.0	24.8	0.5	2.3	2.8	2.3	0.5	0.8	1.3	4.3	9.8	17.0	.574	2.5	5.0	.500	2.8	4.0	.688


Season 8
	Magic Johnson	Steve Smith
Season	1986-87	1998-99
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks 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	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
Steve Smith	36	36.5	18.7	1.4	2.8	4.2	3.3	1.0	0.3	2.8	2.8	6.0	15.0	.402	1.3	3.9	.338	5.3	6.3	.849

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
Steve Smith	9	39.6	17.3	1.6	1.9	3.4	3.3	1.6	0.2	2.3	3.6	6.0	17.0	.353	1.0	3.7	.273	4.3	4.8	.907


Season 9
	Magic Johnson	Steve Smith
Season	1987-88	1999-00
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Trail Blazers 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	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
Steve Smith	82	32.8	14.9	1.5	2.3	3.8	2.5	0.9	0.4	1.4	2.6	5.1	11.0	.467	1.2	2.9	.398	3.5	4.1	.850

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
Steve Smith	16	37.8	17.1	0.8	1.7	2.5	2.8	1.2	0.3	1.7	2.8	5.5	11.3	.486	1.8	3.3	.547	4.3	4.9	.885


Season 10
	Magic Johnson	Steve Smith
Season	1988-89	2000-01
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Trail Blazers 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	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
Steve Smith	81	31.4	13.6	1.1	2.3	3.4	2.6	0.6	0.3	1.7	2.5	4.4	9.7	.456	1.0	2.8	.339	3.8	4.3	.890

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
Steve Smith	3	40.7	17.0	1.7	2.7	4.3	2.3	0.7	0.3	3.3	1.0	5.3	11.3	.471	1.3	3.7	.364	5.0	5.3	.938


Season 11
	Magic Johnson	Steve Smith
Season	1989-90	2001-02
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Spurs 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	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
Steve Smith	77	28.7	11.6	0.6	1.9	2.5	2.0	0.7	0.2	1.4	2.1	4.0	8.9	.455	1.5	3.2	.472	2.1	2.4	.878

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
Steve Smith	10	29.8	10.3	1.4	2.0	3.4	1.7	0.8	0.1	0.7	2.0	3.2	8.7	.368	1.0	3.8	.263	2.9	3.0	.967


Season 12
	Magic Johnson	Steve Smith
Season	1990-91	2002-03
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

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
Steve Smith	53	19.5	6.8	0.4	1.5	1.9	1.3	0.5	0.2	0.8	1.5	2.1	5.5	.388	0.7	2.2	.331	1.8	2.2	.833

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
Steve Smith	9	7.4	1.8	0.1	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.1	0.0	0.2	0.3	0.6	2.7	.208	0.2	1.3	.167	0.4	0.4	1.000

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


Season 13
	Magic Johnson	Steve Smith
Season	1995-96	2003-04
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New Orleans Hornets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Hornets 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	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
Steve Smith	71	13.1	5.0	0.4	0.8	1.1	0.8	0.2	0.1	0.6	1.3	1.7	4.1	.406	0.6	1.5	.402	1.1	1.2	.928

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
Steve Smith	5	9.0	6.4	0.4	1.2	1.6	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.6	1.0	2.4	5.2	.462	1.2	2.2	.545	0.4	0.6	.667


Season 14
	Magic Johnson	Steve Smith
Season	-	2004-05
Team	-	Charlotte Bobcats, Miami Heat
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Heat Lost East 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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Steve Smith	50	15.0	6.3	0.3	1.0	1.3	1.4	0.3	0.1	0.5	1.6	2.0	5.0	.411	0.8	2.1	.390	1.4	1.6	.863

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Steve Smith	3	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.7	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-

Magic Johnson vs. Steve Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Steve Smith 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

Season 14