Cross-era · careers 20 years apart

Magic Johnson vs Slater Martin

Magic Johnson 1979-1995 · Forward-Guard Slater Martin 1949-1959 · Guard

Magic Johnson (1979-1995) and Slater Martin (1949-1959) never shared an NBA court — their careers are separated by 20 years, so this is a cross-era comparison, not a head-to-head. On the floor, Magic Johnson was the higher-volume scorer (19.6 points per game to 9.9); adjusted for era they scored at 1.86× and 1.01× their league average respectively; Magic Johnson was the more efficient scorer (61.0% true shooting to 43.6%). Magic Johnson holds the edge on accolades — 3 MVPs, 5 championships, 3 Finals MVPs and the #7 all-time ranking to Slater Martin's #67.

Career averages

Magic JohnsonStatSlater Martin
19.6 Points / game 9.9
7.2 Rebounds / game 3.1
11.2 Assists / game 4.3
1.9 Steals / game 0.0
0.4 Blocks / game 0.0
52.0% Field goal % 36.5%
22.9% 3-point % 0.0%
84.3% Free throw % 74.7%
61.0% True shooting % 43.6%
906 Games played 745

Era-adjusted (× league average of their era)

Magic JohnsonStatSlater Martin
1.86× Points vs era avg 1.01×
1.72× Rebounds vs era avg 0.60×
4.52× Assists vs era avg 1.90×

Advanced metrics

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

Advanced stats weren't tracked in Slater Martin's era.

Playoff averages

Magic JohnsonStatSlater Martin
19.5 Points / game 10.0
7.7 Rebounds / game 2.9
12.3 Assists / game 3.8
1.9 Steals / game 0.0
0.3 Blocks / game 0.0
50.6% Field goal % 35.5%
18.5% 3-point % 0.0%
83.6% Free throw % 67.7%
190 Playoff games 92

Accolades

Magic JohnsonStatSlater Martin
3 MVP awards 0
3 Finals MVP 0
5 Championships 5
11 All-Star selections 7
9 All-NBA 1st Team 0
#7 All-time GOAT rank #67

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