The Tape
Was Magic Johnson better than Steve Nash?
Magic Johnson, 1979-1991, against Steve Nash, 1996-2015. 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, Magic Johnson is the bigger scorer: 24.8 a game in 1986-87 against 21.5 for Steve Nash in 2006-07. That is a real gap of 3.3 points, not an era illusion — Magic Johnson's league averaged 109.9 and Steve Nash's averaged 98.7.
Magic Johnson wins the glass by 2.8 rebounds a game (6.3 to 3.5), which in his era meant standing in traffic rather than waiting for a long one.
Magic Johnson: The highest career assist average in league history, at 6 foot 9, in 9 Finals. Steve Nash: Two MVPs for running the offense that the entire league copied within 10 years.
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