Cross-era · careers 1 years apart

Kobe Bryant vs Magic Johnson

Kobe Bryant 1996-2015 · Forward-Guard Magic Johnson 1979-1995 · Forward-Guard

Kobe Bryant (1996-2015) and Magic Johnson (1979-1995) never shared an NBA court — their careers are separated by 1 years, so this is a cross-era comparison, not a head-to-head. On the floor, Kobe Bryant was the higher-volume scorer (25.0 points per game to 19.6); adjusted for era they scored at 2.63× and 1.86× their league average respectively; Magic Johnson was the more efficient scorer (61.0% true shooting to 54.9%). Kobe Bryant holds the edge on accolades — 1 MVP, 5 championships, 2 Finals MVPs and the #6 all-time ranking to Magic Johnson's #7.

Career averages

Kobe BryantStatMagic Johnson
25.0 Points / game 19.6
5.2 Rebounds / game 7.2
4.7 Assists / game 11.2
1.4 Steals / game 1.9
0.5 Blocks / game 0.4
44.5% Field goal % 52.0%
32.7% 3-point % 22.9%
83.5% Free throw % 84.3%
54.9% True shooting % 61.0%
1,346 Games played 906

Era-adjusted (× league average of their era)

Kobe BryantStatMagic Johnson
2.63× Points vs era avg 1.86×
1.26× Rebounds vs era avg 1.72×
2.21× Assists vs era avg 4.52×

Advanced metrics

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

Kobe BryantStatMagic Johnson
100.8 Offensive rating —
114.6 Defensive rating —
-13.8 Net rating —
0.3% Usage % —
0.2% Assist % —
0.1% Rebound % —

Playoff averages

Kobe BryantStatMagic Johnson
25.6 Points / game 19.5
5.1 Rebounds / game 7.7
4.7 Assists / game 12.3
1.4 Steals / game 1.9
0.7 Blocks / game 0.3
44.4% Field goal % 50.6%
32.6% 3-point % 18.5%
81.1% Free throw % 83.6%
220 Playoff games 190

Accolades

Kobe BryantStatMagic Johnson
1 MVP awards 3
2 Finals MVP 3
5 Championships 5
15 All-Star selections 11
11 All-NBA 1st Team 9
#6 All-time GOAT rank #7

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