Alijah Arenas, Gilbert's Son, Seriously Injured In Car Crash, Placed Into Induced Coma

12:37 PM PT -- According to high school hoops insider Tarek Fattal, Alijah Arenas was placed into the induced coma due to smoke inhalation ... and did not suffer any broken bones.

12:26 PM PT -- Alijah's mom, Laura Govan, appeared to address the news in an Instagram post ... pleading with her 1.5 million followers to send wishes.

"I NEED ALL YOURE (sic) F***EN PRAYERS," Govan said minutes ago.

High school basketball phenom Alijah Arenas, the son of former NBA superstar Gilbert Arenas, was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries after crashing his Tesla Cybertruck early Thursday morning ... TMZ Sports has learned.

It's unclear what caused the wreck, but the luxury vehicle was completely mangled on the side of the road of a Los Angeles neighborhood based on images we have viewed.

We're told emergency responders raced to the scene at 4:55 AM -- after fire personnel responded to a "trapped patient" ... but when help arrived, everyone inside the vehicle had already made it out.

We're told the front of the car was ablaze ... and an approximately 18-year-old was taken to the hospital in "serious condition."

According to ESPN, 18-year-old Arenas was placed into an induced coma.

Arenas is a five-star recruit who committed to USC earlier this year ... and told TMZ Sports just this month he had a sponsorship deal with adidas.

Arenas averaged nearly 31 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists throughout his high school career.

Back in November, we spoke with Gilbert and Alijah ... and the latter joked his three-time All-Star dad avoided one-on-one matchups due to his polished skills on the court.

Gilbert was slated to appear on his "Gil's Arena" podcast on Thursday ... but the show has since been canceled following the news.