The Oaks played in the first ever game of the ABA on October 13, 1967, beating the Anaheim Amigos 134–129.
Rick Barry attempted to defect to the Oaks due to being angered by San Francisco Warriors management's failure to pay him certain incentive awards he felt he was due.
However the team sued to stop him from playing, which meant that he would sit out the season rather than play for the Warriors, subsequently doing radio broadcasts for the Oaks.
The team struggled, finishing dead last in the West by 3 games, with the worst record in the ABA.
According to the Elo rating system, the Oaks had the second-worst performance of any professional basketball team ever in a major league, of 1485 such team-seasons, with only the 1946–47 Pittsburgh Ironmen having a worse year.