For the first time, at the age of 23, Magic exceeded the .20 win shares per 48 mark. He averaged .207 win shares per 48 minutes for a total of 12.5 across 79 games. His 23.0 PER was 8.0 above the league average (15) and tells us just how efficient he was in accruing his numbers.

Per game, Johnson scored 16.8 points, dished out 10.5 assists and grabbed 8.6 boards. His box plus-minus (7.4) ranked second in the league and first on the Lakers squad. That is, a Laker squad that won 58 regular season contests before being swept by the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Finals.