CURRENTLY fighting for a spot on the Atlanta Hawks, Aussie Jack McVeigh produced what could be a defining performance in his mission, dropping 21 points in his team’s overtime win against the Houston Rockets in the NBA Summer League yesterday.

McVeigh was previously on a two-way contract for the Rockets of all teams, and was excelling with Houston’s G League affiliate. However, his contract was not picked up for the 2025/26 season, and his NBA fate now relies on a Hawks team that is seemingly choosing between McVeigh and fellow Aussie Jack White for the final roster spot.

It was a tight affair for the first half of play, before the Rockets broke away on the scoreboard in the third frame on the back of some excellent fast break offence. However, the Hawks stormed home to force overtime with a 32-23 final frame, and outscored Houston in the extra period to claim an impressive three-point win.

The performance of McVeigh was one of the biggest positives to come out of the match for the victors, with the Aussie doing as much as possible to convince the Hawks he is worthy of a roster spot for the upcoming season.

Atlanta Hawks (111) def. Houston Rockets (108)

Jack McVeigh – 21 points, four rebounds, three assists, one block

McVeigh was one of Atlanta’s best in a gutsy overtime win, coming off the bench to have a real impact with ball in hand and show the Hawks exactly how damaging he can be when his shots are falling throughout a match.

The Aussie forward was injected into the bench halfway through the first quarter, and took no time at all to get involved on the scoreboard, nailing his first shot from the field in the form of a nice stepback three-pointer. After missing his next attempt from the field, McVeigh chimed in again with a nice turnaround jumper from midrange through contact in what was a highlight play as an and-one.

The second quarter saw the Australian take his momentum in from the opening five minutes of the match, draining another fadeaway jumper. McVeigh then nailed his second triple of the match from 26 feet out, before heading to the bench to cap off a productive half as he got into his offensive groove in the first 20 minutes of the contest.

The former Houston Rocket was quieter in the third quarter, not hitting the scoreboard but getting involved in other ways. McVeigh delivered a nice dish out to young gun Kobe Bufkin on the perimeter for his first assist of the match, before chiming in on the defensive end with a nice block inside on an attempted layup.

The fourth quarter saw McVeigh truly come alive on the offensive end, getting involved early with a deep midrange jumper as the Hawks began to make a run. The Aussie chipped in again, cutting to the hoop without the ball and laying the ball in after a nifty pass from a teammate. McVeigh’s third and fourth triples followed shortly after and helped the Hawks force overtime.

Although he was only in the game for a short time in the extra period, McVeigh still managed to chip in for a third assist when he found Bufkin in the low block for the go-ahead basket, as Atlanta ran away with the match.

McVeigh finished the match with 21 points on 8/10 shooting from the field and 4/6 shooting from behind the arc, in a performance that could be enough to punch his ticket onto an NBA roster for the upcoming 2025/26 season.