Keeping in line with players who arrived prior to the season, our player postmortem series continues with LAFC as we take a look at defender Nkosi Tafari. The MLS veteran center back arrived in January via a transfer from FC Dallas that saw the club spend $300k in General Allocation Money for 2026 and using a 2026 International Roster Slot for 2026, for his services. Tafari put that MLS experience to good use for LAFC, as one of the more consistent faces along that backline throughout the season.
Adding muscle to the backline 💪
Welcome to Los Angeles, Nkosi. pic.twitter.com/btZ0WVFPN1
— LAFC (@LAFC) January 23, 2025
The defenders we talked about so far have one thing in common, they were very good at doubling as attackers, helping to push the offense forward from the back. Tafari was brought in purely for his defensive abilities, his physicality in the back, and his experience, but that said, he did surprisingly well in distribution out of the back for the team along with his defensive responsibilities. While he didn’t find the back of the net or have an assist for the club, he did finish the season with 1,531 touches, making 1,151 successful passes with those touches (92% successful pass rate). He completed 45 long balls, had 21 touches in the opposition’s box, had one successful cross and was only dispossessed once. Not bad for a player that was brought in for his defense.
🎥 Off The Pitch: Nkosi Tafari
Born and raised in New York City, Nkosi Tafari’s soccer journey has taken him to every corner of the country before he came to LA and put on the Black & Gold.#LAFC | @Waymo pic.twitter.com/fnbanQ4LLb
— LAFC (@LAFC) September 28, 2025
Tafari made 34 appearances across all competitions for LAFC this season, with 26 starts, and all but two of those starts saw him play the full 90 minutes. In MLS play, he featured in 28 matches on 22 starts, with starts in two of the three postseason matches. In league play he logged a total of 1,986 minutes, and did pretty well defensively. He made 29 tackles, won 67 duels (53% win rate), won 28 aerial duels (48% win rate), made 60 recoveries, blocked 20 shots, had 21 interceptions, was only dribbled past on eight occasions and earned five yellow cards throughout the year.
Not eye-watering numbers, but considering it was the first season with the team, and his center back partner Aaron Long suffered a season-ending injury in the middle of the year, it wasn’t a bad year for the new man in black & gold. As we mentioned, he was brought in not just for his defensive ability, but his physicality and he was most definitely a physical presence at the back for the club. He brought in that edge, had that aura about him that had him fitting the ‘enforcer’ role perfectly. As an MLS vet he knows the league but perhaps a full offseason with the new head coach, a new vision, and some tweaked tactics can see Tafari take another step in his development and become a player the team can really rely on as a defensive stalwart in the back.
Thoughts on the 2025 season for Nkosi Tafari? Drop a comment below with how you’re feeling!