Basketball writer Andy Katz described it as the “speech of the night.” San Antonio Express-News columnist Mike Finger tweeted that anyone who missed it Saturday “should watch Swin Cash’s speech (Sunday). It’s incredible.”
During her official induction ceremony into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, Cash sprinkled in numerous, rapid-fire funny quips, showing a side of her personality familiar to the Pelicans during her three years in the team’s front office. That was interspersed with frequent passionate messages about some of the lessons she’s learned over 20-plus years competing at the highest levels of the game.
The American sports landscape churns into high gear every September when college and pro football kicks off, causing many fans to miss the annual induction ceremony held in Springfield, Mass. But as Finger noted, Cash’s 12-minute presentation was well worth watching. The two-time gold medalist, three-time WNBA champion and two-time NCAA titlist entertained the audience partly by drawing on her sense of humor and humble side, such as when she recalled meeting current NBA Commissioner Adam Silver for the first time. Cash joked that the meeting was so long ago (during the 2002 WNBA Draft) that Silver’s role back then was much different: He was president of NBA Entertainment.
“Lord knows I’m getting old!” the 42-year-old Cash said, smiling.
Cash thanked scores of former teammates and coaches, as well as family and friends, seemingly trying to squeeze in as many as possible during her allotted time on stage. Realizing it was going to be impossible to acknowledge everyone who played a role in her reaching the Hall of Fame, Cash noted that she was bracing for an onslaught of “mean texts” from integral people she did not mention. She smiled and pointed out to that group not to worry, because “I love you all!”
Referring to the start of her WNBA career with the Detroit Shock, a franchise she helped lead to championships in 2003 and 2006, Cash told the story of how she once saw Bill Laimbeer cry, his visceral response to a significant Cash injury. Laimbeer – who decades later is perhaps best known to some fans as a combative, sneering Detroit Pistons villain from “The Last Dance” documentary – surprised Cash with that reaction, leading to another funny Cash punch line Saturday.
“He showed a side that literally nobody in this room believes exists!” Cash wryly noted to the audience of a teary-eyed Laimbeer.
While thanking her husband Steve in the audience, cameras panned to Steve holding the couple’s 5-year-old son, who was sleeping peacefully as the lengthy event neared 10 pm on the East Coast. Their youngest son, who is 1, was already asleep back in his hotel room.
Not to worry, a grinning Cash assured, “we’ll run this (video) back later (when the boys are older for them to see it).”
After completing thank yous to countless contributors to her career and life, Cash concluded her speech by acknowledging basketball itself, saying “Whatever the future holds, I will embrace it the same way I did the game: unapologetically, the way God called me to be . And the whole time I’ll know, giving my all was a necessary gift to the game, and the game forever was a gift to me. God bless.”