After winning the 1969 ABA Championship, the Oakland Oaks moved across the country to Washington, DC. The move was sudden, as the newly renamed Caps kept the Oaks Green and Gold uniform colors, despite changing to a red, white and blue themed logo with the Capitol Building.

Many member of the championship Oaks team were unhappy about the move, including Coach Alex Hannum who resigned and returned to the NBA to lead the San Diego Rockets. Rick Barry also tried to get out of his four year contract to return to the NBA, but a court ruled in favor of the Caps.

The ABA would even keep the Caps in the Western Division as the move came after the schedule was completed. The Caps began the season at home in the Washington Coliseum and beat the New Orleans Buccaneers on October 18 led by new Coach Al Bianchi.

However, faced with a tough travel schedule due to remaining the Western Division, the Caps were unable to get off to a fast start as they hovered near . 500 for most of the season.

Both Rick Barry and Warren Jabali had strong seasons, and would make the All-Star Team, but injuries would limit both in the second half. The Caps would go on to finish in third place with a record of 44-40.

In the playoffs against the Denver Rockets, the Caps would stand strong at home, winning all three games at the Washington Coliseum. However, they lost three games in Denver and were forced to play a seventh game on the road, which would also end in defeat as the Rockets eliminated the Caps 143-119.

During the season the ABA was in serious negotiations to merge with the NBA. Fearing, territorial rights with the Baltimore Bullets the Caps moved south to Virginia after just one season.

The merger which was approved by the owners would be blocked by the NBA Players and would be delayed by years. Despite the lawsuit blocking the merger the Caps would not return to Washington, instead plans were made for the Bullets to move to Washington in 1973 with a brand new arena in nearby Landover, Maryland.