Cairns announce development players

Both McVeigh and Richardson join their first NBL team after successful NBL1 campaigns, selecting Cairns as their preferred destination to begin their basketball careers.

The younger brother of Jack McVeigh first hit the court at the semi-professional level in 2021, when he played for the Gold Coast Rollers in the NBL1 North.

Averaging 10 minutes across his 13 appearances, the guard remained Queensland for the following year, suiting up for the North Gold Coast Seahawks in 2022 before relocating to South Australia.

Impressing with an average of 15.8 points and 5.5 rebounds for the South Adelaide Panthers, the 196cm guard was recruited by the University of Buffalo in 2023.  

McVeigh played 46 games throughout his college tenure, with one start to his name. He averaged 2.3 points, 2.3 rebounds across 11.7 minutes per game before returning to Adelaide and the Panthers.

Lloyd McVeigh is the NBL1 Central Player of the Week! 👟

Dropping 36 points in an impressive display, the South Adelaide Panthers star will take home a $200 Foot Locker voucher 🛍️ pic.twitter.com/TqqyZcHdF5

— NBL1 (@NBL1) July 24, 2025

During his most recent 2025 NBL1 campaign, McVeigh averaged 16.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists – ranking 15th for scoring game in the Central division behind a host of NBL names.

Joining McVeigh in his move to Cairns, Richardson is also coming off his best NBL1 season to date, in his third stint with the Northside Wizards.

First joining the club in 2023, he was a standout during his debut and played an average of 19 minutes, with his height allowing him to naturally capture 4.4 boards and 1.3 blocks per game.

Remaining a Wizard for the following two years, the 21-year-old improved to an average of 11 points and 7.6 rebounds, whilst also working on his steals to grab 1.2 per game.

After capturing the attention of Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde, the duo have suited up for the Club’s three pre-season games so far, with Richardson scoring 11 points and five rebounds against Melbourne United last week.

Meanwhile McVeigh has averaged seven points, and also grabbed a series of boards and two steals across the games.

The pair will now return to the court as formally contracted development players when the Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans take the court tonight at the 2025 NBL Blitz.