As the end of March Madness approaches and Duke prepares to face off against Houston on Saturday night in the Final Four, all eyes are on freshman phenom Cooper Flagg. Even though he skipped his senior year of high school to start his college career early, Flagg is still unanimously projected as the number-one pick in the upcoming NBA draft. Talks of Flagg’s generational talent began in high school, reached new heights last summer when he scrimmaged Team USA as it prepared for the Olympics, and have continued throughout his first year at Duke. Analysts and commentators never run out of things to praise him for, and they all coalesce around the beauty of his game. What is it, though, that makes his game so beautiful, and why are we so captivated by it?
Flagg is constantly praised for his ability to score, defend, and take over a game when needed, but that is only part of the picture. What many find just as sensational as his latest dunk is how he uses these abilities. Plenty of players have just as much—if not more—talent as Flagg, but very few have paired that skill with patience, prudence, selflessness, and even joy. He patiently waits, watching the entire court, and discerns the next best move for his team before acting. When needed, he can make a flashy move and score at whim, but it is just as likely that in the process he’ll see a teammate open and decide to give the ball up. No matter the means or even whether the play goes as intended, Flagg never seems flustered. He celebrates success and allows failures to bounce right off. The habituation and integration of these virtues into his performance are precisely what makes Cooper Flagg’s game beautiful. The flashy plays and skills may help elevate the beauty to even greater heights, but he would be lauded half as much were it not for the sake of these virtues. This beauty is on full display each time Cooper Flagg laces up, and if we watch closely, we discover that it reveals truths about our lives that extend far beyond the hardwood.
We all ache to lead lives of beauty.
Encountering this beauty captivates us because it forces us to contemplate, even if just at the subconscious level, Could I do that? Not “Could I do what Flagg does on the court?” but “Could I do something so beautifully?” We may each have different vocations and particular activities in which we strive for excellence, but, most generally, we all ache to lead lives of beauty. This life we dream of is one of meaning, purpose, and, most of all, happiness. In a sense, our longing for a beautiful life is no more than a longing for happiness. This inclination is natural to all and motivates almost all of our actions. St. Augustine intuited this when he wrote, “We all want to live happily; in the whole human race there is no one who does not assent to that proposition, even before it is fully articulated.” Our hearts long for a beautiful, happy life, but at times we struggle to understand the means of achieving such a life. Yet, Cooper Flagg has modeled a concrete path that all of us can begin pursuing—the habituation and integration of virtues. This model of beauty becomes all the more profound when we consider how Aristotle and Jesus approached the question of happiness.
Basketball may not have been around in the days of Aristotle or Jesus, but the desire for happiness has been present since the origin of man. Aristotle understood happiness as the virtuous activity of the soul. Yet, he is not saying that happiness comes from doing what is right. Instead, Aristotle is talking about perfect virtue in which the virtuous act is both done for its own sake and delighted in. This appears to be a tall order for even the purest of heart, but thankfully, Aristotle and Cooper Flagg demonstrate how to attain this happiness: habit. I doubt Flagg was so patient, prudent, or selfless when he first started playing basketball. Rather, he persevered in habit throughout his youth until these attributes became second nature. The cultivation and habituation of these virtues to the point that he delights in being patient, prudent, and selfless both make his game beautiful and enkindle the joy with which he plays. Similarly, we know this to be true from our own experiences. There are many things we once found hard that became easy and even enjoyable over time as we persevered in habitually doing them. Oftentimes, these things, such as running or reading, become not only things we enjoy but sources of meaning and happiness in our lives. If we want a beautiful, happy life, habituating and integrating perfect virtue into the entirety of our lives—the way Cooper Flagg does when he plays basketball—will significantly help. Still, there is a component missing even from Flagg’s example and Aristotle’s guidance.
Jesus provides the missing piece during the Sermon on the Mount when he gives us the Beatitudes:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matthew 5:3–12).
We often interpret “blessed” as some variation of the modern use of the word in which we receive God’s blessing. This is partially right, but the deeper meaning of “blessed” in this case is happy. “Happy are those who . . .” The Beatitudes are the road map to the beautiful life we desire. They do not contradict Aristotle’s framework, since we find the virtuous activity of the soul implicit in each beatitude, but they do take it a step further. The Beatitudes are not merely an invitation to a virtuous life; they call us to participate in the very life of Christ. By living a life of the Beatitudes, we become participants in the divine life and the very beatitude—or happiness—of God becomes our own. This pursuit appears even more challenging than Aristotle’s, but it need not be so. In a similar way, habits can and will help us cultivate a life of the Beatitudes. However, habits are not sufficient on their own: Grace is necessary to achieve the beatitude Jesus had in mind in the Sermon on the Mount. But if he is inviting us into this, we can rest assured that we can depend on him for the graces necessary.
While Cooper Flagg may not communicate the beatitude God has called us to, he does stir our hearts to crave something more. The source of the beauty found in Flagg’s game is his pairing of virtues with skill. When we encounter this beauty, a partial pathway to a beautiful life is revealed to us. If we lead lives of perfect virtue, our lives will surely be more beautiful and happy. Yet, if we wish to experience the utmost beauty and happiness, our minds must be elevated beyond what Flagg and Aristotle reveal; we must look to Jesus in the Beatitudes. Only the life of the Beatitudes can satisfy our deepest longing for beauty because it places us into a relationship with Beauty itself.