The United States men’s basketball team opened the Olympic tournament with a 98-71 win today at the Basketball Arena in London’s Olympic Park. Kevin Durant lead the squad with 22 points and 9 rebounds, and Kevin Love added 14 points. It was a strong start for the U.S. team, made against a bittersweet backdrop: This could be the final appearance of NBA players at the Olympics.

In 1992, the original Dream Team marked the first appearance of NBA players on the U.S. Olympic team. That squad, widely considered the greatest basketball lineup ever, dominated the competition in Barcelona and cruised to gold.

But now, as NBA players now compete for most countries in the Olympics, the league is hatching plans to promote its own basketball World Cup and position it as the sport’s pinnacle. The goal? Enure the NBA, placed at risk by having its star players at the Games, reaps some of the financial reward as well.

“The owners would be a lot more comfortable letting star players play internationally if they’re sharing in the revenue,” one league source told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.