{"id":670031,"date":"2026-05-15T00:19:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T00:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/670031\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T00:19:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T00:19:13","slug":"swin-cash-wouldve-been-perfect-for-this-wnba-era-she-would-be-the-kardashian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/670031\/","title":{"rendered":"Swin Cash would\u2019ve been perfect for this WNBA era: \u2018She would be the Kardashian\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

What if Swin Cash\u2019s Victoria\u2019s Secret dream happened?<\/p>\n

Cash was a model before she became a two-time NCAA champ with the UConn Huskies, where her jersey is retired, a three-time WNBA champ and two-time Olympic gold medalist, en route to a Hall of Fame induction in 2022.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI remember being that player that had all these other kind of skill sets. I modeled and I walked New York Fashion Week when I was 14,\u201d Cash, now 46, recalled in an interview with The Post before making her debut as a studio analyst for Prime Video\u2019s WNBA coverage on Thursday night.<\/p>\n

\"Swin<\/p>\n

Swin Cash visits The Post studios in New York City to promote WNBA on Prime ahead of the league\u2019s historic 30th season on May 5, 2026. Brian Zak\/NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cI stopped modeling and just strictly was playing sports because my mom [Cynthia] said that she couldn\u2019t a\ufb00ord for me to go to college. So I had to really focus in on my academics in basketball because I was going to get a scholarship, and I did.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I always wanted [to model for] Victoria\u2019s Secret. I wanted to walk, I wanted to do all these other things. I knew that brands [and] other media outlets weren\u2019t giving [the WNBA] the attention we needed \u2014 because I knew if they just showed our game, that\u2019s what you connect to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"University<\/p>\n

University of Connecticut forward Swin Cash reacts after scoring against Oklahoma in the first half at the 2002 NCAA Women\u2019s national basketball final in San Antonio, Texas, March 31, 2002. REUTERS<\/p>\n

Cash \u2014 who was at a crossroads in the late \u201990s before the NCAA rule change that players can profit from their name image and likeness (NIL) \u2014 is ecstatic that WNBA players are building brands, selling products and being recognized for their skills off the court.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf you fall in love with a player, you\u2019re watching enough [WNBA basketball],\u201d Cash said. \u201cThey have a headband on, and you\u2019re making your mom buy a headband\u2026 But I was also told that I needed to put my head down and focus on basketball, and to now see the ladies even take it a step further.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never put my head down. I kept doing what I needed to do, standing on business, but they\u2019re at another level. They\u2019re running their brands in a way that is only going to make it better for the whole ecosystem, because now they\u2019re allowed to be their authentic self, and that translates to them competing and getting better \u2014 but they also can step out at the Met Gala. I think all of the women across the board are taking advantage of that. That\u2019s what makes me kind of tear up, is that the opportunity is there and they\u2019re seizing the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Swin<\/p>\n

Swin Cash modeled as a teenager and walked New York Fashion Week at age 14. Instagram\/Swin Cash<\/p>\n

Cash\u2019s charisma and love for fashion undoubtedly would have landed her tons of brand deals in today\u2019s NIL world.<\/p>\n

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She couldn\u2019t help but laugh while recounting a remark by her former UConn coach, Geno Auriemma, with her 2002 Huskies teammates, Sue Bird, Tamika Williams and Asjha Jones, in their text group chat.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh Lord! I laugh about this\u2026 We\u2019re still in a group chat [today] and so they put in there that coach Auriemma said something \u2014 I don\u2019t know whether to be happy or take o\ufb00ense to this. What are we going with this?<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he literally said, if I think about Swin, he said something along the lines that \u2018she would be the Kardashians of [the NIL era].<\/p>\n

\"Sue<\/p>\n

Sue Bird addresses the crowd as Swin Cash (L) and Geno Auriemma (R) look on during the 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony at Symphony Hall on September 6, 2025 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI passed out. I said, \u2018Well, it\u2019s a compliment. You know what? When opportunity presents itself, you are big business\u2026 Sue says this a lot. We were ahead of our time for how we thought about the business of basketball, the business of sports, and I\u2019m grateful that I had great mentors, great advisors, advocates.\u201d<\/p>\n

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That 2002 Huskies team had a perfect 39-0 season and won a national title, where Cash was named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player in her final college game.<\/p>\n

The WNBA, currently in its 30th season, was five years young when the Detroit Shock selected Cash with the second overall pick in the 2002 WNBA draft.<\/p>\n

Brand deals weren\u2019t a thing and social media influence was a non-factor in cultivating individual player popularity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was the person that, at NBA All-Star or in Detroit, it didn\u2019t matter where it was, running up to Magic Johnson being like \u2018Magic, so tell me about how you got the Starbucks deal?\u2019 Cash said.<\/p>\n

\"Swin<\/p>\n

Swin Cash won two championships with the Detroit Shock. Instagram\/Swin Cash<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to understand it and everyone was just being open to tell me and to teach me and to help me. I was always curious about how do I get there. I may not be able to get to your level. And I remember being poured in to by all these di\ufb00erent men and women because I just asked the questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Cash and her former UConn teammates were part of a bigger ecosystem of players who helped lay the groundwork for the historic seven-year Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)<\/a> the WNBA and WNBPA reached in March.<\/p>\n

Starting with the 2026 season through 2032, new CBA will feature a five-time salary cap increase to $7 million and a new 20 percent revenue-sharing model. The deal boosts minimum salaries to $270,000\u2013$300,000, and includes enhanced family planning benefits, retirement plans, and veteran recognition payments.<\/p>\n

Cash did an exceedingly fine job of making her presence known without resources players have at their disposal today.<\/p>\n

She was a four-time WNBA All-Star and a two-time All-Star game MVP.<\/p>\n

The Pittsburgh native was on the cover\u00a0of Sports Illustrated as one of their Fashionable 50 in April 2016.<\/p>\n

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\u201c[After my playing career] a lot of my time was always thinking and imagining what [the WNBA] could be,\u201d Cash said. \u201cAnd I think every ounce of what I did as a player on the court, o\ufb00 the court, in the community, business wise, was always looking towards the future of where the game was going, where the league was going. I am so, so proud of where it is today and what it will definitely be in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cash was the Director of Franchise Development for the Liberty from 2017-18, before she served as the Vice President and then Senior VP of Basketball Operations and Team Development for the New Orleans Pelicans of the NBA from 2019-2025.<\/p>\n

\"Swin<\/p>\n

Swin Cash attends the Prime Video celebration for the WNBA On Prime Tip Off at Brooklyn Museum on May 5, 2026 in Brooklyn, New York. Getty Images for Prime Video<\/p>\n

Cash joined Prime Video\u2019s star-studded 2026 WNBA coverage lineup \u2014 beginning Thursday \u2014 following her first season as an Analyst and Front Office Insider for NBA on Prime.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWith the technology in-studio, we\u2019re going to be able to kind of take you out of your seat and make you feel like you\u2019re a part of the game,\u201d Cash said, adding that she can\u2019t wait to showcase a different side of her personality. \u201cWe\u2019re really educating you, but not talking over your head, talking directly to you so you can get it.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing I can tell you\u2026 I can put you on the floor [on Prime\u2019s studio court] and say, all right, Candice, you\u2019re here, and actually show you this one pick and roll or this court perspective. It\u2019s going to be a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hall of Famer Cynthia Cooper joins Candace Parker as a rotating game and studio analyst, Olympic gold medalist Kara Lawson and Emmy Award-winning women\u2019s basketball broadcaster LaChina Robinson are game analysts and Hall of Famer Teresa Weatherspoon and WNBA stars Lindsey Harding and Ty Young will join Cash for in-studio coverage.<\/p>\n

\"(L-R)<\/p>\n

(L-R) Swin Cash, LaChina Robinson, Ty Young, Cynthia Cooper, Amina Hussein, Kara Lawson, Allie Clifton, and Candace Parker attend the Prime Video celebration for the WNBA On Prime Tip Off at Brooklyn Museum on May 5, 2026 in Brooklyn, New York. Getty Images for Prime Video<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Sparks<\/a> guard Kelsey Plum<\/a> will join WNBA on Prime as a player contributor, making select appearances during the 2026 WNBA season.<\/p>\n

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The 2026 WNBA on Prime Video season tips off with a doubleheader on Thursday, with the Minnesota Lynx<\/a> facing the Dallas Wings<\/a> at 8 p.m. ET and the Liberty taking on the Portland Fire<\/a> at 10 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n

Prime Video will exclusively stream 31 regular-season games, the Commissioner\u2019s Cup Championship on June 30, and select postseason games.<\/p>\n

Outside of basketball, Cash \u2014 a mother of two sons, Saint and Syer, with her husband Steve Canal \u2014 continues to give back to the game and support women in sports as a philanthropist and entrepreneur.<\/p>\n

She founded Cash for Kids, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering youth, and in 2022 she launched She\u2019s Got Time, an enterprise focused on creating a diverse ecosystem of resources, community, and media for women with careers in sports.<\/p>\n

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She was named as a board of trustees member of The Women\u2019s Sports Foundation\u00a0in January.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What if Swin Cash\u2019s Victoria\u2019s Secret dream happened? Cash was a model before she became a two-time NCAA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":670032,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,3459,156669,631,632,736,8214,75484,86136,104252,1912,82,246900,1304,99103,630],"class_list":["post-670031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-dallas-wings","tag-geno-auriemma","tag-kelsey-plum","tag-los-angeles-sparks","tag-minnesota-lynx","tag-new-orleans-pelicans","tag-new-york-fashion-week","tag-olympic-gold-medalist","tag-portland-fire","tag-prime-video","tag-sports","tag-swin-cash","tag-uconn-huskies","tag-victorias-secret","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=670031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/670032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=670031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=670031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=670031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}