Cross-era · careers 2 years apart

John Havlicek vs Magic Johnson

John Havlicek 1962-1977 · Forward Magic Johnson 1979-1995 · Forward-Guard

John Havlicek (1962-1977) and Magic Johnson (1979-1995) never shared an NBA court — their careers are separated by 2 years, so this is a cross-era comparison, not a head-to-head. On the floor, John Havlicek was the higher-volume scorer (20.8 points per game to 19.6); adjusted for era they scored at 1.89× and 1.86× their league average respectively; Magic Johnson was the more efficient scorer (61.0% true shooting to 49.2%). Magic Johnson holds the edge on accolades — 3 MVPs, 5 championships, 3 Finals MVPs and the #7 all-time ranking to John Havlicek's #11.

Career averages

John HavlicekStatMagic Johnson
20.8 Points / game 19.6
6.3 Rebounds / game 7.2
4.8 Assists / game 11.2
0.4 Steals / game 1.9
0.1 Blocks / game 0.4
43.9% Field goal % 52.0%
0.0% 3-point % 22.9%
81.3% Free throw % 84.3%
49.2% True shooting % 61.0%
1,270 Games played 906

Era-adjusted (× league average of their era)

John HavlicekStatMagic Johnson
1.89× Points vs era avg 1.86×
1.17× Rebounds vs era avg 1.72×
2.14× Assists vs era avg 4.52×

Advanced metrics

Advanced stats weren't tracked in John Havlicek's era.

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

Playoff averages

John HavlicekStatMagic Johnson
22.0 Points / game 19.5
6.9 Rebounds / game 7.7
4.8 Assists / game 12.3
0.3 Steals / game 1.9
0.1 Blocks / game 0.3
43.5% Field goal % 50.6%
0.0% 3-point % 18.5%
82.7% Free throw % 83.6%
172 Playoff games 190

Accolades

John HavlicekStatMagic Johnson
0 MVP awards 3
1 Finals MVP 3
8 Championships 5
13 All-Star selections 11
4 All-NBA 1st Team 9
#11 All-time GOAT rank #7

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