The WNBA Atlanta Dream announced that it has acquired four-time All-Star forward Swin Cash from the Chicago Sky in a trade that will send guard Courtney Clements to Chicago. The teams will also swap draft picks, with Atlanta receiving the Sky’s third-round selection in the 2015 WNBA Draft, while Chicago will get Atlanta’s second-round pick in the same draft.
Cash, who will be entering her 13th season in the league, is one of just two players in WNBA history to accumulate career totals of at least 4,500 points, 2,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists. The two-time Olympic gold medalist ranks 15th in WNBA history in scoring (4,708 points), 11th in rebounds (2,274), 16th in assists (1,010) and 19th in blocks (236).
“We are thrilled to add an outstanding player like Swin to our roster,” said Dream Executive Vice President and General Manager Angela Taylor. “Her accomplishments in basketball speak for themselves. She has consistently been an exceptional all-around player who can beat you several different ways. She also has a championship pedigree, having won titles as a collegian, as a professional and as a member of USA Basketball. She will be a tremendous asset to our team and gives us another piece to the puzzle as we continue to strive for a WNBA Championship.”
Cash, an All-American at the University of Connecticut who helped the Huskies to a pair of national championships (2000 and 2002), was the No. 2 overall pick of the 2002 WNBA Draft by the Detroit Shock. She earned Second Team All-WNBA honors in both 2003 and 2004 and helped the Shock win its first-ever WNBA title in 2003, and a second championship in 2006. Her first two All-Star appearances also came while she was with Detroit, in 2003 and 2005.
After six seasons in Detroit, Cash was traded to the Seattle Storm in 2008, and was named to the WNBA All-Star team in both 2009 and 2011, winning game MVP honors both times. She won a third WNBA title in 2010 when the Storm defeated Atlanta in the WNBA Finals, and was a WNBA All-Defensive Second Team honoree in 2011.
Cash spent the past two seasons with Chicago, helping the Sky post the top record in the Eastern Conference last season, averaging 9.3 points, 5.6 boards and 2.2 assists while starting all 34 games for a fourth straight season. She owns career averages of 12.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
Cash also has an accomplished career with USA Basketball, winning gold medals at the 2012 and 2004 Olympics, as well as the 2010 FIBA World Championships, the 2009 UMMC Ekaterinburg International Invitational and the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship. In all, she has played in 81 games for USA Basketball.
Cash is also known for her charitable efforts, earning the league’s Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award in 2013. She is the founder of Cash for Kids, which has helped over a thousand children across the nation with a particular focus on fitness, and her urban development company Cash Building Blocks, LP, renovates and offers affordable homes for low income families.
The three-time Eastern Conference Champion Atlanta Dream tips off its seventh season in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) on May 16 against the San Antonio Stars in Philips Arena.