LeBron James’ son LeBron James Jr. clearly takes after his father

AN 11-year-old has already been branded the next King of the NBA after releasing an epic highlights reel. It helps when your dad is basketball royalty.

# of the 2015 USA Basketball Men's National Team during a practice session at the Mendenhall Center on August 12, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

LEBRON James Jr., age 11, is really darn good at basketball.

Yeah, you’ve heard this one before. The youngster is a phenom like his father and may have a future as a professional. Still, his pops would like him to have a normal-ish childhood and previously expressed that he thinks it’s absurd that some colleges have already attempted to recruit LeBron Jr.

“He plays just like I did,” James has observed. “He has great awareness, and he’d rather pass first and set guys up. Most kids nowadays just want to score.”

It’s true. Watch him help lead the Gulf Coast Blue Chips to back-to-back championships at the Ronald Searles Holiday Classic tournament in Houston on December 19-20.

WATCH LITTLE LEBRON’S HIGHLIGHTS REEL IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ABOVE.

Lebron Jr. is a gun.

As good as the youngster is, and as much as he’d love to carve out a career in the sport as successful as the one his dad has, there’s one thing about King James LeBron Jr. is refusing to copy — and it’s a gutsy move.

The pre-teen is determined to earn everything that comes his way. That’s why he refuses to wear the number his father has made famous — along with a certain Michael Jordan, that is — number 23.

Speaking earlier this month to Sports Illustrated, LeBron said his eldest child didn’t want people to know who his father was.

“He doesn’t want people to know who he is,” LeBron said. “He hates when they ask him for pictures and autographs. He won’t even wear my number.”

Instead, he chose number 0 — the same as LeBron’s Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Kevin Love.

The fact is, no matter how hard he tries to hide it, LeBron Jr. won’t be able to avoid the comparisons with his old man. But the man who passed on the freakish basketball talent to his son is hopeful that the bubble of Northeast Ohio will shield him from unwanted attention much like it did for him when he was younger.

“There is a comfort and a shadow and a protection here,” James told Sports Illustrated.

“This city protects me and my family. I can’t explain it, but when I was a kid and I’d walk the streets or be out late or play on outdoor courts, I felt like people were watching me and thinking, ‘Let’s protect him.’ I could feel that. I still feel it.”

If little LeBron’s highlights are any indication, it will be his future opponents who’ll need all the protection they can get.