• 1978-79: Johnson won the NCAA championship with Michigan State against Larry Bird's Indiana State team. He also became the Lakers first overall pick.
• 1979-80: As a rookie only, Magic led the Lakers to the NBA Finals by scoring 42 pts, 15 reb, 7 ast, and 3 steals against Philadelphia . He also replaced Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Game 6.
• 1980-81: Johnson remained latent in 45 games due to torn cartilage in his left knee.
• 1981-82: The Lakers returned and again won the NBA Finals in six games against Philadelphia . Magic once again became the MVP of the series. He also rushed for his 2nd consecutive steals title in the regular season.
• 1982-83: Magic won his first of four assist titles and led the Lakers to the NBA finals against the 76ers. But due to the injuries to Nixon, Worthy, and McAdoo, the 76ers took the series in their stride.
• 1983-84: Magic won the assist title once again and led the Lakers to the finals. This time their opponents were the Boston Celtics and Larry Bird. The eventual game went in the favor of the Celtics.
• 1984-85: The Lakers defeated the Celtics in NBA Finals.
• 1985-86: Houston defeated the Lakers by 4-1 in the Western Conference finals.
• 1986-87: Magic won his first MVP award. For the 3rd time, he led the Lakers to the Finals against the Celtics. Magic also had his career high of 23.9 points per game in the regular season that year.
• 1987-88: The Lakers won back to back NBA championships. This time they defeated the Detroit Pistons.
• 1988-89: For the third time Magic averaged over 20 pts per game. He also became the recipient of team's MVP award and led the team to NBA Finals. This time Pistons became the heroes of the league.
• 1989-90: For the second repeated year and third time overall, Magic became the NBA's MVP.
• 1990-91: The Lakers made an NBA Finals appearance for the 9th time in 12 years. This time they were defeated by the Chicago Bulls.
• 1991-92: Preceding the 1991-1992 season, Magic announced that he had tested positive for HIV and was retiring from the NBA. But, he played in the Olympic games and won a gold medal in Barcelona .
• 1995-96: Magic made his comeback to the NBA on January 29, 1996 against the Golden State Warriors. His almost a triple-double stat made him famous. He finished the season averaging 15 pts, 7 ast, and 6 reb per game.