The Tape
Was Julius Erving better than Magic Johnson?
Julius Erving, 1971-1987, against Magic Johnson, 1979-1991. The numbers levelled to one league, then the call.
Method, stated plainly: scoring is adjusted to a league averaging 114 points per team per game. Rebounds and assists are printed as they were recorded, with the league scoring rate beside them, because a rebound in 1962 came out of a different number of missed shots and we will not pretend one multiplier fixes that. Career lines for active players run through 2024-25.
What the numbers say
Adjusted to a league averaging 114 points a game, Julius Erving is the bigger scorer: 28.1 a game in 1979-80 against 24.8 for Magic Johnson in 1986-87. That is a real gap of 3.3 points, not an era illusion — Julius Erving's league averaged 109.3 and Magic Johnson's averaged 109.9.
Magic Johnson is the passer: 12.2 assists a game to 4.6, and that is the difference between running an offense and finishing one.
Julius Erving: The player who made the game vertical, with 5 of his best seasons spent in a league the record books treat separately. Magic Johnson: The highest career assist average in league history, at 6 foot 9, in 9 Finals.
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