SAN ANTONIO (AP) – David Robinson wasn’t surprised Tim Duncan won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award for a second straight year. Not after the way the Spurs forward played in San Antonio’s first-round playoff series against Phoenix.

The 7-foot Duncan was double-teamed and sometimes even triple-teamed by the scrappy Suns almost every time he touched the ball. And while his scoring was less than usual, the Spurs forward still helped his team win.

In the clinching Game 6 on Thursday, Duncan posted a triple-double – 15 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists – despite all of the defensive attention.

“He may be the smartest player in the league,” said Robinson, who was the league’s MVP in 1995. “He takes whatever you give him. If you’re going to play him up on his jumpshot, he’ll drive. If you’re going to play back, he’ll shoot the jumpshot. That’s what makes him MVP.”

While the award will not officially be announced until Sunday, league sources confirmed to The Associated Press on Saturday that the 27-year-old Duncan was selected from among an unusually large group of worthy candidates.

Duncan chose to not speak with reporters in San Antonio on Saturday, but his teammates had nothing but praise for him.

“Tim is so important to this team,” starting guard Stephen Jackson said.

“He comes to play every night – I think that’s the definition of an MVP, (a player) who comes out and continues to help his team, brings the energy and the same contribution to his team every night.”

Duncan led the Spurs to an NBA-best 60-22 record while averaging 23.3 points, 12.9 rebounds and nearly three blocks a game.

Others in contention for the award included Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett, Orlando’s Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson of Philadelphia.

Also on the short list were Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal of the three-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, who open a Western Conference semifinal series against the Spurs at the SBC Center on Monday night.

“Kevin Garnett’s had a great year, Kobe’s had a great year, Tracy McGrady’s had an unbelievable year,” Robinson said. “But still you can’t dispute it – Tim’s the best.”

Duncan is the seventh player to win the award in consecutive seasons, joining Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Moses Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell.

The Spurs are focused on turning the table on the Lakers, who needed a mere nine games to eliminate San Antonio from the playoffs in the past two seasons.

“We understand they’re the NBA champions of last year, so we have our hands full,” small forward Bruce Bowen said.

The Spurs aren’t dwelling on their recent postseason futility against Los Angeles.

“That’s in the past – it’s all about what we do now,” Bowen said. “A lot of times, people don’t remember what you did years ago – they remember what’s going on now.”

Bowen, a defensive specialist, will try to contain the playoff-stoked Bryant, who scored 14 points in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ Game 6 clincher over Minnesota on Thursday.

“He lives for this kind of challenge, as far as the playoffs and him shining,” Bowen said of Bryant. “And I’m looking forward to making everything as difficult as I can against him.”

The Spurs won all four regular-season games against the Lakers this year, though the first two victories came early in the season, while O’Neal was still recovering from foot surgery. After San Antonio completed the sweep in late March, Bryant mused that Los Angeles just might pay back the favor in the postseason.

“He’s supposed to be confident – I’m not knocking that, but it’s a new day,” Jackson said. “We’re going to continue to keep our confidence, continue to keep our family together and play the way we normally play.”

AP-ES-05-03-03 1835EDT