Last Updated on July 27, 2026 by Mat Diekhake

Power forwards who can grab a defensive rebound, push the ball themselves, and immediately put pressure on a retreating defence have always been difficult to match up with, and Swin Cash built her career around exactly that role as an American forward in the WNBA. She played with force without sacrificing control, attacking gaps, finishing through contact, and making the extra pass when help defenders collapsed, giving every lineup a dependable two-way presence.

Here’s the detailed profile of Swin Cash:

Player Profile

  • Full Name: Swintayla Marie Cash
  • Nationality: American
  • Age: Born September 22, 1979
  • Hometown: McKeesport, Pennsylvania, USA
  • Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
  • Weight: 162 lbs (73 kg)
  • Wingspan: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
  • Shoe Size: N/A
  • Number: #2, #4, #8, #32
  • Position: Forward (Small Forward / Power Forward)
  • High School: McKeesport Area High School (McKeesport, PA)
  • College: University of Connecticut (1998–2002)
  • WNBA Draft:
    • Selected 2nd overall in the 2002 WNBA Draft by the Detroit Shock
  • Teams Played For:
    • Detroit Shock (2002–2007)
    • Seattle Storm (2008–2011)
    • Chicago Sky (2012–2013)
    • Atlanta Dream (2014)
    • New York Liberty (2014–2016)
  • Championship Rings:
    • 3× WNBA Champion (2003, 2006, 2010)
    • 2× NCAA Champion (2000, 2002 with UConn)
  • Career Highlights:
    • 4× WNBA All-Star (2003, 2005, 2009, 2011)
    • 2× WNBA All-Star MVP (2009, 2011)
    • Named to the WNBA’s Top 15 Players of All Time (2011)
    • Named to the WNBA’s 20@20 and 25@25 Anniversary Teams
    • 2× Olympic Gold Medalist (2004, 2012)
    • Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.
  • Kids: Two sons (Born in 2017 and 2021)
  • Siblings: She has two older brothers.

Player Archetype / Play Style

Swin Cash’s player archetype was that of a powerful two-way forward, a versatile wing-forward hybrid who could defend multiple spots, rebound through contact, and give a team secondary scoring without disrupting its structure. Defensively, she brought real value as a physical, switch-capable presence who could battle bigger forwards, hold ground on the glass, and set a tough tone across frontcourt matchups. Offensively, her role was usually that of a complementary scorer and connector rather than a ball-dominant star, thriving on cuts, transition play, mid-post work, hustle finishes, and timely face-up offense. At 6-foot-1 and 171 pounds, Cash had a strong, sturdy build that matched her competitive style and helped her play bigger than her listed size. Her overall play style was forceful, unselfish, and winning-oriented, blending toughness, versatility, and championship-level role acceptance throughout a 15-year WNBA career. (WNBA)

Scouting Report

What stands out about Swin Cash is how many different ways she could tilt a possession without ever needing to dominate the ball. She played with the mentality of a forward but often thought like a guard, recognising gaps before they fully developed and attacking them with decisive cuts, straight-line drives or timely post seals against smaller defenders. Her handle wasn’t built for elaborate isolation sequences, yet it didn’t need to be because she got to her spots through strength, balance and sharp reads of defensive positioning. If defenders closed out recklessly, she’d put the ball on the floor with purpose, collapse the defence and deliver the simple pass that kept the advantage alive rather than forcing something spectacular. Defensively, that’s where I always felt her value was at its highest. She communicated early, rotated instinctively as the low woman, absorbed contact in the post and had the mobility to hedge briefly before recovering, making life easier for everyone around her. The trade-off was that against the quickest perimeter scorers she could be challenged if possessions turned into repeated changes of direction far from the basket, while against true interior centres she occasionally gave away size. That made her most effective defending the broad middle of the positional spectrum, where her combination of strength and anticipation consistently disrupted offensive rhythm. To me, Cash fit perfectly in line-ups built around constant movement because she understood when to screen, when to relocate and when to cut behind ball-watchers without interrupting offensive flow. It’s easy to overlook how often she made the possession after the possession—the extra rotation, the secondary cut or the quick reversal that finally forced the defence into a mistake. Her game shared elements of DeWanna Bonner’s ability to exploit mismatches from multiple areas of the floor, with flashes of Alysha Clark’s understated defensive discipline and connective decision-making, although Cash leaned more heavily on physicality and interior pressure than either comparison.

Fun Facts

  • He currently the Vice President of Basketball Operations and Team Development for the New Orleans Pelicans.
  • He worked as a basketball analyst for various networks, including ESPN.
  • He is the founder of “Cash for Kids,” a charity focused on youth empowerment and education.

Sources:

WNBA — Swin Cash Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more
NBA.com — The ultimate winner as a player, Swin Cash experienced early adversity in pros
WNBA — Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Announces 13 Members For The Class Of 2022