Rockets 2024-2025 season in review: Jack McVeigh/N’Faly Dante
McVeigh came to the Houston Rockets last summer on a two-way deal, holding a fine reputation as a shooter and from winning 2024 NBL Finals MVP Award. McVeigh spent the majority of the 2024-2025 NBA season with Rio Grande Valley in the G-League, playing in 34 games for the Vipers this past season. He racked up a pretty solid stat line of 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists on 44 percent shooting from the floor and 37 percent shooting from deep. He scored a season-high 29 points in a January 9 win over the Oklahoma City Blue.
His numbers for the Rockets were significantly more modest. McVeigh played in just nine games, averaging 4.8 minutes per contest. He averaged just 1.6 points per game and shot 29 percent from the floor and a slightly higher 30 percent from deep.
The 6’8” McVeigh offers some tantalizing potential on a team desperate for shooting, but we all know that head coach Ime Udoka wants defenders first and foremost, which isn’t exactly McVeigh’s forte’. He’s also just 23, so he still has some room for development. I’d like to see him back on a two-way next season, depending on Houston’s draft results.
N’Faly Dante
Dante went undrated but signed a two-way deal with the Rockets, and the 6’11” traditional center also had a great year down in the Valley. He went off for 16.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1 steal and 2.2 blocks per game on 75 percent (yes, real) shooting for the Vipers. He took no three-pointers as a rim-running center, scoring almost all of his points in the paint or the post.
With the Rockets, like McVeigh, he also played sparingly, appearing in just four games. But I liked some of what I saw from the 23-year-old Dante. In a March 3 game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dante scored 10 points with 9 rebounds and 2 blocks on 4-for-6 shooting in 18 minutes of action. He also had 8 points, 6 rebounds and 1 block on 4-for-5 shooting against the Los Angeles Lakers in the next-to-last game of the season.
Dante has me intrigued. He averaged 6 points, 5.3 boards and 1.3 blocks on the year in 12.8 minutes per night. He shot 10-for-13 from the field on the year. He had defensive box plus-minus of +1.7 and a defensive rating of 103, albeit in limited time. But there’s something there with Dante. If the Rockets have the patience and room to keep him on a two-way, I’d love to see what he can become with another season or two of development.
