Newly signed forward Jack McVeigh, now on a two-way contract with the Houston Rockets, had an encouraging showing for Australia at the 2024 Paris Olympics. But it wasn’t perfect.
While McVeigh made a clear impact with his long-range shooting, he also played off the bench for Australia (in contrast to Rockets center Jock Landale, who started for the Boomers).
In a new column reviewing Olympics performances, The Athletic’s John Hollinger — formerly an NBA front-office executive with the Memphis Grizzlies — shared a balanced take on McVeigh.
Hardcore Cornhuskers might remember him from his three years at Nebraska, but he’s become a much more potent shooter since then, hitting 42.0% and 43.4% from 3-point range the past two seasons in Australia’s National Basketball League.
The 28-year-old McVeigh also has a thin frame and may be a bit undersized for an NBA four at 6-8, 215 pounds. He filled his role at the Olympics, making 10-of-19 on 3-pointers in 75 minutes for a shooting-starved Australia team, but him not starting ahead of overseas journeyman Nick Kay hints at some of the defensive limitations he may see at the next level.
That could make McVeigh something of a situational player in the 2024-25 season for head coach Ime Udoka. If a matchup calls for additional shooting and/or the opponent isn’t as capable of punishing McVeigh’s defensive limitations, that could open up a role.
On the other hand, if more defense is needed, that could make a player such as Jae’Sean Tate a better reserve option. Udoka and the Rockets will sort it out when training camp opens in late September.
New for @TheAthleticNBA – my ten big takeaways from the Olympics basketball tournament:
* Worries about Murray
* Yabusele return?
* Old guys still got it
* and more …https://t.co/kPkaXilWHI— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) August 14, 2024
