Australian forward Jack McVeigh has agreed to a two-way deal with the Houston Rockets, sources told ESPN.
McVeigh — a 6’8 forward — is coming off the best season of his professional career, emerging as a star for the Tasmania JackJumpers, leading the team to the 2024 NBL Championship, and walking away as the Championship Series MVP.
The 28-year-old was named to the 12-man Australian Boomers team for the 2024 Paris Olympics. He’s currently in Abu Dhabi with the Boomers, posting nine points in Australia’s loss to Team USA on Tuesday morning (AEST). The Boomers face Serbia on Wednesday morning.
Over the 2023-24 NBL season, McVeigh averaged 16.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game for the JackJumpers, shooting 52.5 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from beyond the arc (4.6 attempts per game). McVeigh is a rangy forward who can effectively score at all three levels, and particularly excels as a three-point shooter.
McVeigh was raised on the Gold Coast, in Queensland, and was one of Australia’s best 1996-born players as a junior player, representing his country at the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship. He spent four seasons at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, before beginning his professional career in the NBL.
McVeigh joins the trend of NBL Championship Series MVPs earning NBA contracts in the immediate aftermath of winning the award, following in the footsteps of Jock Landale (2021) and Xavier Cooks (2022).
Landale — McVeigh’s Australian national team teammate — is currently on the Rockets’ roster, ahead of the 2024-25 NBA season.
McVeigh’s impending departure leaves a sizeable hole at the four-spot for the JackJumpers, who will lose a primary starter and local player. The JackJumpers have utilised all three of their import spots.