The NBA season begins this week with 28 teams plotting ways to disrupt the Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers showdown that already feels inevitable. But others around the league are quietly pondering something that may be more realistic: Is there a day when the NBA surpasses the NFL?

This idea isn’t as crazy as it sounds. The NBA has some of the biggest stars in sports. Their fans are young, diverse and tech savvy, in part because the league has let the game blossom online by treating highlights like amuse-bouches. There has been such an explosion of money in recent years that players and owners now find themselves on the brink of a collective-bargaining agreement that will ensure labor peace until LeBron James nears retirement.

The future of the NFL isn’t quite so clear. The most powerful American sports league has been plagued by critical issues over the last decade, from concerns about head injuries to decreases in youth participation. But not until recently did the NFL’s popularity actually suffer. This season the quality of play seems to have gotten worse. The television ratings have, too. It’s a swoon that strikes at the heart of the game.

The result of basketball’s cultural boom and football’s undeniable erosion is a cautious optimism around the NBA that once would’ve been unthinkable. As this generation of fans grows up, they believe, basketball might be able to finally catch football as the country’s most popular sport.

“I 100% think that,” said Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey. “There are really, really strong trends going the NBA’s way. As you map it forward, you say the NBA is going to be No. 1.”