Swin Cash will enter the Hall of Fame tonight alongside Manu Ginobili, Tim Hardaway, and George Karl. The former player, retired since 2016, has always been a model for her work on but also off the pitch. And she will now know the ultimate reward: induction into the Hall of Fame.
You may not know her if you don’t follow women’s basketball. On the other hand, if this is the case, the name of Swin Cash is bound to be familiar to you. Charismatic as possible and very talented, Swintayla by her full name has always been recognized by her teammates as an example. His entry into the basketball pantheon is an opportunity to look back on his under-emphasized career.
Born in Pennsylvania, more precisely in McKeesport, Swin tries out several sports disciplines as well as the theater but finally decides to take the path of basketball to accompany her schooling. You could say she made the right choice. Her talent for basketball takes over and she receives an invitation to the WBCA High School American Game. But Jamie, what is the WBCA? It is the association of coaches for women’s teams. Basically, it’s an association that seeks to promote women’s basketball by creating skills and a union of coaches, the goal being to develop this sport among women. This invitation may have played into Cash’s vision of the positive influence that sport could have on the women’s cause.
Swin then arrives at Connecticut University alongside a certain Sue Bird, and the two girlfriends perform directly. They won the NCAA title in their second season, and repeated the feat for the fourth and final year of their course. This last season is memorable: record of 39-0, and Cash will finish MOP of the NCAA tournament. Enough to get in shape before taking the plunge into the WNBA, which she will integrate as second choice of the 2002 Draft behind… her teammate and now young retiree Sue Bird. The story is beautiful.
As in college, the young Swin was a hit from her first steps with the Detroit Shock: 15 points, 7 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1 block per game for her rookie season. The season nevertheless started very badly (0 wins – 10 losses) and a new sheriff arrived in town to coach this team with great potential: Bill Laimbeer. The bad boy from Detroit takes Swin under his wing and they set up a different culture at Shock. Or rather a culture that has been buried for far too long: now Detroit will play hard again and the values of the franchise will come much closer to what their neighbors the Pistons do: if it is not the talent that wins the matches, fighting spirit will do it. Swin, who already fills a lot of boxes, adds this extra soul to her game. Versatile as in high school, she dominates with her defense and her sense of rebound. A quality scorer and playmaker, Cash improves and puts the Shock back on the WNBA map. His progress and a first place in the Western Conference allow him to be elected All-Star in his second season among the big ones (16.6 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists). Cash is therefore very quickly registered as a face of the League. That season, she took the Shock with her and won her first championship against the Los Angeles Sparks at just 23 years old. Pretty hot start for the young Cash. To not disturb anything (we try the expression), she won the Olympic title with the Rican selection in the summer of 2004, alongside Lisa Leslie, her university rival Tamika Catchings and of course, the unforgettable Sue Bird. Swin remained four more seasons, and was re-elected All-Star in 2005. In 2006, the Shock players were again crowned WNBA champions. But despite these successes, the relationship between Laimbeer and Cash did not work out so well and the winger left for the Seattle Storm for the 2008 season. And guess who she will join there? Sue Bird, since obviously they are inseparable.
This new chapter in Seattle is only beneficial for Cash, elected All-Star twice (2009 and 2011) at the Storm and with whom she won the title again in 2010. Swin no longer falls below the 10 points per game mark during his four seasons in Seattle. It was during this same period that she took part in the World Cup in 2010, which she obviously won alongside… Sue Bird, but also Diana Taurasi, the young Maya Moore and even Tina Charles. Transferred in 2012 to Sky Chicago after particular back injury concerns, the slope will nevertheless only be downhill for Swin Cash, who will also pass through Atlanta and New York. The last great collective success she experienced was at the London Olympics in 2012, a competition at the end of which Swin and her teammates took first place on the podium. In 2016, she finally decided to end her career.
In terms of the prize list, Swin is a size. We hope the trophy cabinet is big enough, but that’s clearly not our business. Cash robbed everything during his career (no pun intended): in total, four invitations to the All-Star Game, including twice MVP of the game (2009 and 2011), 2x All-WNBA Second Team, 3x WNBA champion, 2x Olympic champion and 1x World champion , as well as a place in the Top 25 setters and Top 15 all-time rebounders.
Cash won it all but the other reason she’s so respectedit is also his involvement in the community and his efforts outside the field. Activist to denounce police violence and firearms, Swin has also always defended the causes of the African American community as well as those of women, asking them to continue to fight for themselves and for their rights through basketball and through their status.
“I think it’s a shame to perceive people who protest as violent people. And in this country, I think we can combine peace and protest against injustice. So until the system changes, we can’t just sit back and pretend that everything is fine in the United States. »
Cash in 2016 after being fined with her teammates for wearing a flocked “#BlackLivesMatter” t-shirt to a game.
Cash (the name sends heavy though) is still involved in basketball, and for good reason, she works for our friends at the New Orleans Pelicans as vice president of basketball operations and team development. A role she has held since the summer of 2019 and which suits her perfectly, she who is often described by her locker room comrades as a true leader.
A true legend of the parquet floors, Swin Cash will be honored tonight in Springfield during the Hall of Fame. The highest award for a basketball player of the highest level. Congratulations Cash, and above all congratulations for the message you have conveyed throughout your career.