The intense competition in between the Lakers and Celtics in the 1980s introduced the NBA into a various stratosphere. The league’s huge spike in appeal was powered by among the very best private fights in sports history: Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird.
In that years, either Los Angeles or Boston reached every NBA Finals. Johnson and Bird took on 3 times in the champion series with Johnson winning 2 of the 3 matches. They developed themselves as 2 of the best gamers of perpetuity, eventually winding up in the Hall of Fame.
While Johnson and Bird had the ability to build a relationship and real gratitude for each other’s abilities, fans from that age stay securely entrenched in their positions. You’re either on Team Magic or Team Bird.
We will not inform you which side to select. We’re just here to offer the statistics for these basketball legends in order to include some realities to the unlimited arguments.
MORE: Celebrating the life and tradition of the NBA’s biggest winner, Bill Russell
Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird: Regular season statistics
Bird was a much better scorer, outside shooter and rebounder than Johnson, however Johnson had the upper hand in the death department. He balanced 10.5 helps per video game or more 9 times in his profession, and he is perhaps the very best passer in NBA history.
| Magic | Per Game | Bird |
| 19.5 | Points | 24.3 |
| 7.2 | Rebounds | 10.0 |
| 11.2 | Assists | 6.3 |
| 1.9 | Steals | 1.7 |
| 0.4 | Blocks | 0.8 |
| 3.9 | Turnovers | 3.1 |
| 36.7 | Minutes | 38.4 |
| 52.0 | Field objective % | 49.6 |
| 30.3 | 3-point % | 37.6 |
| 84.8 | Free toss % | 88.6 |
| Magic | Totals | Bird |
| 906 | Games | 897 |
| 17,707 | Points | 21,791 |
| 6,559 | Rebounds | 8,974 |
| 10,141 | Assists | 5,695 |
| 1,724 | Steals | 1,556 |
| 374 | Blocks | 755 |
| 3,506 | Turnovers | 2,816 |
| 33,245 | Minutes | 34,443 |
Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird: Regular season advanced statistics
This classification is exceptionally close. Johnson stands above Bird in PER, VORP, BPM and Win Shares, however Bird is ideal behind him.
| Magic | Advanced | Bird |
| 24.1 | Player Efficiency Rating | 23.5 |
| 80.0 | Value Over Replacement | 77.2 |
| 7.5 | Box Plus/Minus | 6.9 |
| 155.8 | Win Shares | 145.8 |
| 61.0 | True Shooting % | 56.4 |
| 22.3 | Usage % | 26.5 |
Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird: Playoff statistics
The Lakers and Celtics constantly leaned on Johnson and Bird in the postseason, and they frequently provided big efficiencies throughout deep runs.
It’s worth keeping in mind that Johnson completed his profession with an 11-8 record versus Bird in championship game. (All of those video games occurred in the NBA Finals, naturally.)
| Magic | Playoffs Per Game | Bird |
| 19.5 | Points | 23.8 |
| 7.7 | Rebounds | 10.3 |
| 12.3 | Assists | 6.5 |
| 1.9 | Steals | 1.8 |
| 0.3 | Blocks | 0.9 |
| 3.7 | Turnovers | 3.1 |
| 39.7 | Minutes | 42.0 |
| 50.6 | Field objective % | 47.2 |
| 24.1 | 3-point % | 32.1 |
| 83.8 | Free toss % | 89.0 |
| Magic | Playoff Totals | Bird |
| 190 | Games | 164 |
| 3,701 | Points | 3,897 |
| 1,465 | Rebounds | 1,683 |
| 2,346 | Assists | 1,062 |
| 358 | Steals | 296 |
| 64 | Blocks | 145 |
| 696 | Turnovers | 506 |
| 7,538 | Minutes | 6,886 |
Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird: Playoff advanced statistics
Once once again, the sophisticated statistics are tight with Johnson holding a minor edge. Both Johnson and Bird remain in the leading 15 on the all-time lists for playoff VORP, BPM and Win Shares.
| Magic | Advanced | Bird |
| 23.0 | Player Efficiency Rating | 21.4 |
| 18.3 | Value Over Replacement | 15.4 |
| 7.6 | Box Plus/Minus | 6.9 |
| 32.6 | Win Shares | 24.8 |
| 59.5 | True Shooting % | 55.1 |
| 21.2 | Usage % | 24.8 |
Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird: Accolades and awards
For a great deal of folks, this is the trump card for Johnson. He has 5 rings on his hand, and Bird has 3.
But do not forget that Bird is among simply 3 gamers to manage an MVP three-peat in addition to Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain.
| Magic | Accolades | Bird |
| 5 | Championships | 3 |
| 3 | MVPs | 3 |
| 3 | Finals MVPs | 2 |
| 10 | All-NBA | 10 |
| 12 | All-Star | 12 |
