The Slam started the season returning five players from the 2005-06 squad, forward Mike Parker, center Brian Dennis, and guards Brandon Hartley, Jacob Stevenson and Jared Stevenson. Five new players completed the roster, forward Michael Jones, guards Scott Freymond and Chris Ferguson, and centers Matt Short and Kyle Dalvit.
Prior to their home debut, the Slam opened the season on the road in Seattle against the King County Royals. Parker started his second ABA season hot, scoring 36 points to help the Slam earn their first victory, 108-96.
With their first game out of the way, the Slam opened up their home season with a pair of games against the highly-touted Hollywood Fame. The Slam could not overcome the veteran leadership of former NBA coach Don Casey as he guided the Fame past the Slam both nights, but only by a combined total of four points. In the first game, Parker was hot again and scored 45 points, but the Slam still came up short, losing 122-120. In the second game, the Fame came from behind to beat the Slam again, this time in dramatic fashion on a four-point play with three seconds left, leaving it 121-119. That setback would prove to be the first of several heart-breaking losses for the Slam this season.
Having dropped their first two home games, the Slam were determined to reverse the trend as they faced the Beijing Olympians for two games before Thanksgiving. Beijing’s team featured several players from the Chinese national team in addition to former Seattle Sonic Fred Vinson. The Slam went on to win both games and finished November with a 3-2 record.
After starting December with a second victory against King County, the Slam traveled south for their first long road trip of the season. The trip started out on a bizarre note in Mexico, as the team’s game against Tijuana had to be cancelled due to the court being too slippery. The Slam and Tijuana Dragons played only six minutes before the referees stopped the game amidst concerns over the players’ safety.
Two days later, the Slam finally played their first game of the road trip as they took on the Carson Buzz. The well-rested Slam cruised to a 120-100 victory for their first victory in southern California in the team’s history. That streak, however, was short lived as the Slam fell to the San Diego Wildcats the next night, by a score of 113-105.With a 5-3 record and still looking to hit their stride, the Slam returned home and finished the month of December on a roll. The team rattled off seven straight victories, defeating both the Sacramento Heatwave and Tijuana Dragons twice and running their record to 5-0 against the King County Royals with three more decisive wins. In the first game against Tijuana on December 21, Ferguson set a new record by hitting 9-of-12 three-pointers, ending with 29 points in just 16 minutes of play. In the December 27 game against King County, Dennis set a franchise record of 22 rebounds during the Slam’s 113-92 win. The Slam were flying high to end 2006, with a 12-3 record and the third-best ranking in the ABA’s weekly playoff poll.
The success of 2006 didn’t carry over into 2007, however, as the Slam dropped three of their next four games. The Slam opened January with another road trip to Mexico and California, this time with three games in consecutive nights in Tijuana, Sacramento, andLos Angeles. The Slam lost their first two games of the trip by a combined five points, both by clutch shots in the final seconds. But despite playing their third game in three nights, the Slam would not be denied in the final game of the road trip, as they defeated the Beijing Olympians in Los Angeles, 110-104. The win gave the Slam a 3-0 sweep of the season series against the Olympians in 2006-07.
The win streak was unfortunately short lived as the Slam returned home and fell to the King County Royals for the first time on January 13. The Slam picked a bad time to have their worst offensive performance in team history, posting only 83 points to the Royals’ 101.
Despite starting their season-long six game homestand off on the wrong foot, the Slam were able to regroup and win the next five games,
twice against Carson and Big Valley, and once against the Gallup Outlaws. The win streak gave the Slam a 18-6 record heading into February. Freymond
came to life during the homestand as he netted a trio of triple-doubles, first
against Carson on January 18 and twice in back-to-back games against
Along with the luxuries of a long homestand came the rigors of an extended road trip, as the Slam’s next six games would come away from home. The team would criss-cross the continent for most of February, with games in Vermont, Canada, California, and Seattle.
The trip began February 8 in Barre, Vermont against the 2nd ranked Vermont Frost Heaves. The travel-weary Slam fell short, 115-104, with Hartley and Freymond trying their best to keep the game close by scoring 25 and 21 points, respectively. The second game on February 10 proved to be much tighter, with the Slam failing to hold on to a late lead and losing by a score of 112-107. In this game, Parker led the Slam with 37 points.
The very next day, the Slam headed north of the border for a showdown with the Montreal Royal. The game would prove to be the most dramatic in the team’s history, as the Slam rallied in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime, only to see Montreal hit an ABA-special four-point shot at the buzzer to steal the win, 124-123.
With the rough trans-continental trip out of the way, the Slam headed to California and took out their frustrations on the Big Valley Shockwave in Modesto. The Slam extended their record against the Shockwave to 4-0 on the season with a pair of lopsided victories. Parker and Hartley scored 35 and 34 points, respectively, in the first game. In game two, Parker once again played possessed, netting a huge double-double of 41 points and 22 rebounds.
The Slam rounded out the trip in Seattle, with the King County Royals getting the best of the Slam for the second straight time, by a score of 124-121.
With the regular season winding down, the Slam looked to finish the season strong as they pummeled Sacramento two more times by a combined margin of 82 points. In the first game, Dennis racked up a unique double-double with 12 blocks and 10 rebounds while Parker tacked on a more conventional double-double with 39 points and 14 rebounds. In the second game, Parker helped put the Slam in great position for the playoffs by setting a franchise high of 51 points in the team’s final regular season game.
With a 22-10 record, the Slam drew the number eight seed in the ABA playoffs, earning them a bye in the first round and setting up a second round playoff game at home. After a 17-day layoff, the Slam took on the Hollywood Fame on March 17 to decide who would advance to the quarterfinals. Despite not playing in over two weeks, they easily defeated the Fame 137-103. Parker and Hartley partnered up again, combining for 67 points. Jacob Stevenson was also key in the playoff win with 24 points and nine rebounds.
The second round win set up a quarterfinal match-up against a familiar opponent, the top-seeded Vermont Frost Heaves. Vermont outplayed the Slam for much of the game, leading by as much as 22 in the third quarter. But with their playoff lives on the line, the Slam fought back in the fourth quarter with a 23-8 run to get within three points, at 98-95. But unfortunately Vermont regrouped following the run and held the Slam to a mere five points for the remaining four minutes of the game. Vermont won the game 119-103 and continued on to win the ABA Championship the following week.