Manu Ginobili vs. Magic Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Magic Johnson and Manu Ginobili, 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

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.

Manu Ginobili played 16 years in the NBA, 3 more than Magic Johnson, who played 13. Manu Ginobili had the first of his seasons in 2002-03, while Magic Johnson had his rookie season in 1979-80. 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
Manu Ginobili	16	15	2002-03 to 2017-18
Magic Johnson	13	13	1979-80 to 1995-96

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16


Rookie Season
	Manu Ginobili	Magic Johnson
Season	2002-03	1979-80
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Rookie Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	69	20.7	7.6	0.7	1.7	2.3	2.0	1.4	0.2	1.4	2.5	2.5	5.8	.438	0.7	2.1	.345	1.8	2.5	.737
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	24	27.5	9.4	1.2	2.6	3.8	2.9	1.7	0.4	1.5	2.6	3.0	7.7	.386	1.2	3.0	.384	2.3	3.1	.757
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


Season 2
	Manu Ginobili	Magic Johnson
Season	2003-04	1980-81
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Steals Leader
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Semis	Lakers Lost West 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		%
Manu Ginobili	77	29.4	12.8	1.1	3.4	4.5	3.8	1.8	0.2	2.1	2.4	4.3	10.2	.418	1.1	3.2	.359	3.1	3.9	.802
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	10	27.9	13.0	1.5	3.8	5.3	3.1	1.7	0.1	2.1	3.0	4.2	9.4	.447	1.0	3.5	.286	3.6	4.4	.818
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


Season 3
	Manu Ginobili	Magic Johnson
Season	2004-05	1981-82
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Steals Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	74	29.6	16.0	1.0	3.4	4.4	3.9	1.6	0.4	2.3	2.6	5.0	10.5	.471	1.3	3.5	.376	4.8	6.0	.803
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	23	33.7	20.8	0.8	5.0	5.8	4.2	1.2	0.3	2.9	3.0	6.3	12.4	.507	1.8	4.2	.438	6.4	8.0	.795
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


Season 4
	Manu Ginobili	Magic Johnson
Season	2005-06	1982-83
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Semis	Lakers Lost NBA 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		%
Manu Ginobili	65	27.9	15.1	0.6	2.9	3.5	3.6	1.6	0.4	1.9	2.4	4.8	10.3	.462	1.3	3.3	.382	4.3	5.5	.778
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	13	32.8	18.4	0.7	3.8	4.5	3.0	1.5	0.5	2.5	3.3	5.8	12.1	.484	1.1	3.2	.333	5.6	6.7	.839
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


Season 5
	Manu Ginobili	Magic Johnson
Season	2006-07	1983-84
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost NBA 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		%
Manu Ginobili	75	27.5	16.5	0.8	3.6	4.4	3.5	1.5	0.4	2.1	2.1	5.3	11.4	.464	1.7	4.3	.396	4.3	5.0	.860
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	20	30.1	16.7	0.8	4.7	5.5	3.7	1.7	0.2	2.1	3.1	5.0	12.4	.401	1.9	5.0	.384	4.9	5.8	.836
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


Season 6
	Manu Ginobili	Magic Johnson
Season	2007-08	1984-85
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	Sixth Man of the Year	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Finals	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	74	31.1	19.5	0.9	3.9	4.8	4.5	1.5	0.4	2.7	2.3	6.1	13.3	.460	2.1	5.3	.401	5.1	6.0	.860
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	17	32.9	17.8	0.8	2.9	3.8	3.9	0.6	0.3	2.8	2.8	5.8	13.6	.422	2.2	6.0	.373	4.1	4.5	.896
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


Season 7
	Manu Ginobili	Magic Johnson
Season	2008-09	1985-86
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers 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		%
Manu Ginobili	44	26.8	15.5	0.5	4.0	4.5	3.6	1.5	0.4	2.0	2.0	5.1	11.2	.454	1.6	4.8	.330	3.8	4.3	.884
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 8
	Manu Ginobili	Magic Johnson
Season	2009-10	1986-87
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	75	28.7	16.5	0.9	2.9	3.8	4.9	1.4	0.3	2.1	2.1	5.3	12.0	.441	1.8	4.7	.377	4.1	4.7	.870
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	10	35.2	19.4	0.4	3.3	3.7	6.0	2.6	0.2	3.0	3.0	5.8	14.0	.414	2.0	6.0	.333	5.8	6.7	.866
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


Season 9
	Manu Ginobili	Magic Johnson
Season	2010-11	1987-88
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	80	30.3	17.4	0.5	3.2	3.7	4.9	1.5	0.4	2.2	2.0	5.5	12.7	.433	1.9	5.5	.349	4.5	5.1	.871
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	5	34.8	20.6	0.4	3.6	4.0	4.2	2.6	0.6	3.4	2.6	6.2	14.0	.443	1.8	5.6	.321	6.4	8.2	.780
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


Season 10
	Manu Ginobili	Magic Johnson
Season	2011-12	1988-89
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Finals	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	34	23.3	12.9	0.5	2.9	3.4	4.4	0.7	0.4	1.9	1.6	4.4	8.4	.526	1.5	3.7	.413	2.6	3.0	.871
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	14	27.9	14.4	0.6	2.9	3.5	4.0	0.7	0.3	3.0	2.6	4.6	10.4	.448	1.6	4.9	.338	3.4	4.0	.857
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


Season 11
	Manu Ginobili	Magic Johnson
Season	2012-13	1989-90
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Spurs Lost NBA Finals	Lakers 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		%
Manu Ginobili	60	23.2	11.8	0.5	2.9	3.4	4.6	1.3	0.2	2.2	1.9	3.8	9.0	.425	1.4	3.9	.353	2.7	3.4	.796
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	21	26.7	11.5	0.4	3.3	3.7	5.0	1.1	0.3	2.6	2.5	3.7	9.2	.399	1.4	4.6	.302	2.8	3.8	.738
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


Season 12
	Manu Ginobili	Magic Johnson
Season	2013-14	1990-91
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	68	22.8	12.3	0.4	2.5	3.0	4.3	1.0	0.3	2.0	1.9	4.3	9.2	.469	1.3	3.8	.349	2.4	2.8	.851
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	23	25.5	14.3	0.4	2.9	3.3	4.1	1.6	0.1	2.3	2.6	4.5	10.3	.439	1.8	4.6	.390	3.5	4.1	.862
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

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


Season 13
	Manu Ginobili	Magic Johnson
Season	2014-15	1995-96
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Lakers 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		%
Manu Ginobili	70	22.7	10.5	0.4	2.6	3.0	4.2	1.0	0.3	2.2	2.0	3.6	8.4	.426	1.3	3.7	.345	2.1	2.9	.721
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	7	18.7	8.0	0.6	2.9	3.4	4.6	0.6	0.9	2.0	2.7	2.1	6.1	.349	1.1	3.1	.364	2.6	3.3	.783
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


Season 14
	Manu Ginobili	Magic Johnson
Season	2015-16	-
Team	San Antonio Spurs	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	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		%
Manu Ginobili	58	19.6	9.6	0.4	2.1	2.5	3.1	1.1	0.2	1.7	1.7	3.4	7.5	.453	1.2	3.1	.391	1.6	1.9	.813
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	10	19.2	6.7	0.6	2.1	2.7	2.5	0.8	0.3	0.7	2.5	2.0	4.7	.426	0.9	2.1	.429	1.8	2.3	.783
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 15
	Manu Ginobili	Magic Johnson
Season	2016-17	-
Team	San Antonio Spurs	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Finals	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	69	18.7	7.5	0.4	1.9	2.3	2.7	1.2	0.2	1.4	1.7	2.5	6.4	.390	1.3	3.3	.392	1.2	1.6	.804
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	16	17.8	6.6	0.6	1.8	2.4	2.4	1.0	0.1	0.8	1.8	2.5	6.1	.412	0.6	2.5	.225	1.1	1.4	.739
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 16
	Manu Ginobili	Magic Johnson
Season	2017-18	-
Team	San Antonio Spurs	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West 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		%
Manu Ginobili	65	20.0	8.9	0.3	1.9	2.2	2.5	0.7	0.2	1.6	1.9	3.1	7.1	.434	1.0	3.0	.333	1.7	2.0	.840
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Manu Ginobili	5	21.4	9.0	0.2	2.8	3.0	3.2	1.4	0.2	1.4	2.6	3.0	7.4	.405	1.2	3.6	.333	1.8	2.2	.818
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Manu Ginobili vs. Magic Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Magic Johnson and Manu Ginobili, 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

Season 15

Season 16