Anthony Davis has already missed 16 games this season. Jerome Miron / Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks won’t have Anthony Davis in the lineup when their West Coast road trip continues Saturday against the Sacramento Kings.

Davis suffered a minor right groin strain in the Mavericks’ Christmas Day loss to the Golden State Warriors, a team source confirmed to The Athletic. Davis is expected to miss multiple games, but there is optimism that he won’t be sidelined for long.

Davis was trying to run the floor on a fast break Thursday when he came up limping. He headed to the Mavericks’ bench at the 8:50 mark in the second quarter. A trainer examined him, and then Davis headed to the locker room and never returned.

Davis has already missed 16 games this season. He suffered a left calf strain in Dallas’ Oct. 29 game against the Indiana Pacers. Dallas has posted a 4-12 record in games he’s been unable to play.

The Mavericks’ loss to the Warriors dropped their record to 12-20 this season. They are in 11th place in the Western Conference.

The Mavericks are expected to be active ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline. Davis is one of the players they will likely receive offers for.

On Dec. 15, The Athletic reported that the Mavericks were “signaling a desire to be competitive for the rest of the season.” They are in a difficult position because while they have a young star to build around in 19-year-old forward Cooper Flagg, the Mavs don’t have outright control of any of their first-round picks from 2027-30 — a result of win-now moves the team made to strengthen its roster around Luka Dončic.

The Mavericks famously traded Dončic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February for Davis. Davis has only been able to play in 27 of a possible 67 games in a Mavericks uniform.

Christian Clark is an NBA reporter for The Athletic who is based in Dallas. Previously, he covered the New Orleans Pelicans for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Follow Christian on Twitter @christianpclark