Veal, 33, has put her career as a firefighter on hold to start a Basketball Australia assistant coaching job in Canberra at the AIS, and will reunite with the Capitals on a one-year playing deal.

She will rekindle her on-court partnership with Jackson for the team they helped turn from competition easy-beats to championship contenders when they were just 18.

Then, the Capitals wore bodysuits and played at Tuggeranong. Veal and Jackson pioneered an era of Capitals success, winning the club's first championship in 1999-2000 after leaving the AIS, and secured two more before leaving Canberra.

"It's nice to be back, it feels like home. We had a little family here," Veal said. "I'm fortunate to come back to where it all started and hopefully a chance to finish my career on a good note.

"The Caps went from last to first [in 1999], it was probably the biggest turnaround of any club in [WNBL] history.''

Veal said the chance to play with Jackson again had played a part in her decision. "Of course the chance to play with Lauren is a factor - the fact we've got history is a bonus."

Veal is the latest Capitals recruit in a roster of star veterans that boasts Jackson, Jess Bibby, Carly Wilson and Abby Bishop.

Veal and Jackson teamed up to win the AIS's first championship in 1998 and when the duo graduated, coach Carrie Graf pounced in her first season as Capitals coach.

The Capitals had made the finals just once in 14 seasons before the trio combined in Canberra.

Veal and Jackson won three titles together for Canberra, while the club has won seven championships in the past 15 years.

But the Capitals have missed the playoffs for the past three years.

"To have [Veal] back is a massive plus ... she and Lauren will connect really quickly - they had such a good rapport from a young age," Graf said.

"We need to maximise the things they can do together. It's like watching your kids grow up ... you go through some growing pains.

"I think the three of us are excited to be back on a team ... we were all young then, building something big."

Veal has racked up 340 WNBL games since she moved to the AIS as a 15-year-old. She sits behind Bibby (349 games) on the all-time games record list.

She has spent the past six seasons with the Logan Thunder, but the club folded under financial pressure this year, opening the door for Veal to return to Canberra as a Basketball Australia coach and Capitals point guard.

"Because we had success at the AIS, we had fun when we joined the Capitals," Veal said.

"We were still kids, but we had an unbelievable competitive drive to win. The last season at Logan was tough, we fought hard but we folded and I didn't want to finish on that note."

The WNBL season will start at the end of October.