Cross-era · careers 4 years apart

Billy Cunningham vs Magic Johnson

Billy Cunningham 1965-1975 · Forward Magic Johnson 1979-1995 · Forward-Guard

Billy Cunningham (1965-1975) and Magic Johnson (1979-1995) never shared an NBA court — their careers are separated by 4 years, so this is a cross-era comparison, not a head-to-head. On the floor, Billy Cunningham was the higher-volume scorer (20.8 points per game to 19.6); adjusted for era they scored at 1.88× and 1.86× their league average respectively; Magic Johnson was the more efficient scorer (61.0% true shooting to 50.3%). Magic Johnson holds the edge on accolades — 3 MVPs, 5 championships, 3 Finals MVPs and the #7 all-time ranking to Billy Cunningham's #64.

Career averages

Billy CunninghamStatMagic Johnson
20.8 Points / game 19.6
10.2 Rebounds / game 7.2
4.0 Assists / game 11.2
0.2 Steals / game 1.9
0.1 Blocks / game 0.4
44.5% Field goal % 52.0%
0.0% 3-point % 22.9%
71.8% Free throw % 84.3%
50.3% True shooting % 61.0%
654 Games played 906

Era-adjusted (× league average of their era)

Billy CunninghamStatMagic Johnson
1.88× Points vs era avg 1.86×
1.88× Rebounds vs era avg 1.72×
1.76× Assists vs era avg 4.52×

Advanced metrics

Advanced stats weren't tracked in Billy Cunningham's era.

Advanced stats weren't tracked in Magic Johnson's era.

Playoff averages

Billy CunninghamStatMagic Johnson
19.4 Points / game 19.5
9.1 Rebounds / game 7.7
3.2 Assists / game 12.3
0.0 Steals / game 1.9
0.0 Blocks / game 0.3
40.6% Field goal % 50.6%
0.0% 3-point % 18.5%
69.4% Free throw % 83.6%
39 Playoff games 190

Accolades

Billy CunninghamStatMagic Johnson
0 MVP awards 3
0 Finals MVP 3
1 Championships 5
4 All-Star selections 11
4 All-NBA 1st Team 9
#64 All-time GOAT rank #7

More comparisons

Want a different matchup? Use the interactive comparison tool.