Oakland Oaks (ABA)

Oakland Oaks 1967-1969 Washington Capitols 1969-1970 Virginia Squires 1970-1976

Oakland Auditorium

Alex Hannum 1968-1969

The Oakland Oaks were an American basketball franchise from Oakland, California and a founding member of the American Basketball Association. They were founded in February 1967 as the Oakland Americans, changed the name but before the league start in autumn Oaks. The team played from 1967 to 1969 in the ABA, the team's colors were green and gold.

The owner of the Oaks was the singer Pat Boone. They were probably better known for contractual disputes with the San Francisco Warriors of the NBA over the rights to the star player Rick Barry as for any performance on the court. Barry, a former Rookie of the Year, the 1966/67, led the Warriors in the finals of the NBA was so angry that the management him unpaid which ensures motivation donating prices, which was justified in his view that he the 1967 season / 68 exposed. He joined the following year, the Oaks and led the team to their only ABA championship in 1968/69.

With or without Barry, the team proved to be a bad investment for Boone and his co-owner. Though they won the championship, the Oaks were an abysmal disappointment at the box office, which was largely due to its proximity to the Warriors of the NBA. The team was sold and moved to Washington 1969/70, where it was renamed the Washington Capitols. After just one season in the U.S. capital, the team moved to Norfolk, Virginia to before the 1970/71 season and became the Virginia Squires. The Squires were disbanded after the 1975/76 season, so that they no longer stood for the association between ABA and NBA, which took place only weeks later disposal.

An earlier version of the Oakland Oaks played in 1962 in the American Basketball League.