Nothing beats a good night's sleep, especially if investments are working for you while counting z-z-z's.

"I would love to learn to make money in my sleep," ex-NBA forward Lamar Odom told TheStreet on Wednesday, Oct. 3, before he was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame.

Odom dazzled the courts playing for the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat and has also led a notable off-the-court life.

Lately, he's been thinking about life after basketball. "I've never really had the opportunity to have time on my own without that consistent basketball schedule. I'm learning to manage my time," which involves "a lot of focus, a little bit of prayer and commitment."

With that time, Odom says he'll look into investing in stocks, especially companies like Apple Inc. (AAPL) - Get Report and Microsoft Inc. (MSFT) - Get Report , and others in the tech sector. Also, he's ready to learn about bitcoin.

Odom said one of his proudest business ventures was creating the unisex fragrance Unbreakable with his ex-wife Khloe Kardashian.

About sussing out sound business opportunities, he said, "I try to use my commonsense and my heart, and blend the two."

As a boy growing up in Queens, N.Y., Odom said he knew at the age of 10 that he'd make it to the NBA. Among his heroes were Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. Odom played lots of sports, including another favorite, football, as a child. He settled on basketball because it was "mothering," in that it afforded him a life of traveling to "beautiful places" and meeting "beautiful people."

A highlight of his career, he said, was playing alongside Kobe Bryant with the Lakers. It was Bryant's "commitment to excellence, to hard work, how it can pay off, where it can take you," that taught him to have a "championship mind."

Yet, it was Michael Jordan who left Odom starstruck years back at a club in Phoenix. Mike Tyson was there that night, too.

"I was with my friend Maurice Taylor," said Odom, "and I kept nudging him. Am I going crazy? I keep staring at him [Jordan]."

"Everyone does that," Taylor told Odom. "He's got an aura."

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Editors' pick: Originally published Oct. 4.