Looking back at Swin Cash’s Hall of Fame career

Cash became the fourth former Husky to be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame

Aug 26, 2021

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

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Looking back at Swin Cash’s Hall of Fame career

On Saturday night Swin Cash’s playing career earned her one of the highest honors in basketball: induction into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. She became the fourth former Husky to earn the honor, joining Rebecca Lobo, Jennifer Rizzotti, and Kara Wolters. Coaches Geno Auriemma and Chris Dailey have also been inducted.

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Officially in the Hall of Fame. Congratulations, Swin!

Swin Cash arrived at UConn at a time when playing professional basketball after college was a fairly new option in the women’s game. The WNBA was wrapping up its second season as Cash was arriving on campus for her freshman year to play for a program that had won one national championship at the time.

Alongside Sue Bird, Cash had a formidable part in building UConn women’s basketball into the dynasty it is today. The pair helped lead UConn to its second national championship in 2000, and its third in 2002. The 2002 championship team roster boasted both Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, but Cash took home the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament award.

In the WNBA, Cash found success early and often. After being drafted second overall in the 2002 draft by the Detroit Shock, behind Bird, Cash almost immediately made an impact. In the 2003 season, she was named an All-Star, a second-team All-WNBA player, and helped lead the Shock to a franchise first title. She averaged her scoring career-high of 16.6 points per game in just her second season in the league en route to the championship.

In 2004 she was once again named to the second-team All-WNBA and won her first of two Olympic gold medals with Team USA in Athens. Cash’s success with the Shock continued, leading to another All-Star nod and another championship trophy in 2006.

Cash’s storied professional career then continued with the Seattle Storm, where she rejoined her former UConn teammate Bird. They won the title in 2010, marking Cash’s third and final championship. It would take Bird until 2018 to tie her longtime teammate’s tally. Cash also made two All-Star appearances in her time with the Storm, in 2009 and 2011, winning All-Star MVP in both outings. She is one of just three players (alongside Lisa Leslie and Maya Moore) to win multiple All-Star MVP awards.

Following her time in Seattle, Cash played for Chicago, Atlanta, and New York in the WNBA before retiring at the end of 2016 after 15 years in the league. During that time, Cash also helped the United States take home another gold medal in the 2012 London games.

Cash’s success in the league, especially early on in her career, made her one of the best UConn players all-time in the league. In joining the league in 2002 she was also one of the first players, aside from the Houston Comet’s big three of Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes, and Tina Thompson who won the first four WNBA titles, to have three championships to her name.

Today, Cash is continuing to lend her excellence to the game as an NBA executive. She’s been the vice president of basketball operations for the New Orleans Pelicans since 2019.