A lot has been written and said about the sportsmanship Jonathon Montanez displayed in the closing seconds of the annual Coronado – Franklin basketball game that got special needs student Mitchell Marcus the basket his coach so wanted him to have, but what inspired the young man to carry out such a selfless act for an opposing player? It was words his dying grandmother once told him.

“My grandma, when she was passing away on her [death] bed, she [said] there’s always somebody watching you whether it be in Heaven or physically on Earth,” he told us during an interview on Mike and Tricia Mornings. “There’s somebody always watching you, and, at that moment, I just thought it was the right thing to do.” (Yeah, it brought a tear to our eyes too.)

Listen to our conversation with Jonathan about the inbound pass seen ‘round the world in the video above, and check out photos below from the “amazing” weekend in Los Angeles he, Mitchell Marcus, and Coronado coach Peter Morales were treated to by Justin Bieber’s manager, Scooter Braun.

The weekend included courtside seats at an NBA game, and an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show!

Jonathon Montanez El Paso Mitchell Marcus
Jonathon, Coach Morales, Mitchell at the Clippers game (Twitter/Jon Montanez)
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Jonathon Montanez El Paso Mitchell Marcus
Jonathon with his parents and the NBA's Cliff Paul and Kevin Durant (Twitter/Jon Montanez)
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Jonathon Montanez El Paso Mitchell Marcus
Sitting court side at the Clippers/Thunder game (Twitter/Scooter Braun)
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Jonathon Montanez El Paso Marcus Mitchell
Chillin' back at the hotel (Twitter/Jon Montanez)
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Jonathon Montanez El Paso Marcus Mitchell
Their names on the dressing room door. Jon's name is misspelled but I bet he didn't mind! (Twitter/Jon Montanez)
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Jonathon Montanez El Paso Mitchell Marcus
Posing with Ellen DeGeneres after the show (Twitter/NC9)
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