Greg Oden practices before an NCAA tournament game.

AP / David J. Phillip David J. Phillip

Topps will celebrate the 50th-year anniversary of its first set of basketball cards by combining the talents of Bill Russell and Greg Oden, two dominating centers whose careers are a half-century apart.

To bridge that 50-year gap, Topps will bring the two hoop stars together as company pitchmen for its 2007-08 basketball series. That issue will feature Oden’s rookie card and recollections of Russell’s rookie in Topps’ benchmark 1957-58 set. The highlight will be Russell and Oden on a two-player combo card.

Topps began its celebration by signing a multiyear deal with Oden, the 19-year-old 7-footer projected as the top pick in this week’s NBA draft after playing one year at Ohio State. The exclusive deal is reportedly worth about $3 million over three years.

Russell, of course, is a basketball legend, a five-time most valuable player and 12-time All-Star who led the Celtics to 11 championships in his 13 seasons in Boston. Topps has a contract with him, though it doesn’t provide exclusivity.

Because few basketball cards had been manufactured previously, the 1957 Topps set is loaded with rookie cards. In fact, 51 of the 80 cards in the set are classified as rookies. And, for fans of the Boston Celtics, these Topps cards were like finding a field of four-leaf clover watched over by green leprechauns.

Russell’s rookie card — number 77 — is the biggest prize because the lanky center turned out to be the greatest player in the group. And the fact that he ignored collectors — especially those seeking his autograph — for so long simply added another layer of mystique to his early trading cards. It was only in the past few years that Russell has been active in the collectibles market and, now, he’s a fairly frequent and affable signer.

In addition to Russell, the 1957-58 Topps set features the rookie cards of several of his Celts’ teammates — Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman, Tom Heinsohn, Frank Ramsey and Jim Loscutoff. Among the other rookies are stars like Bob Pettit, Paul Arizin and Al Bianchi. And the set includes the first and only card of Maurice Stokes.

Until the 1980s, basketball had a spotty history in trading cards. There were a few basketball cards in early 20th-century multisport sets. Goudey’s 1933 Sport Kings, a multisport issue with four basketball players (all Celtics), were the first bubble gum cards to include the sport.

In 1948, Bowman Gum produced a series of 72 cards that are significant as the first set devoted entirely to basketball. It was the only hoops set Bowman made and the only nationally distributed basketball set until Topps’ first about a decade later.

The Bowman set contains a card of George Mikan, basketball’s most dominant early big man, that is the most expensive in the hobby (price guides list it at $2,500 or higher). The set also is of special interest to local fans because it pictures several players who had been with the Providence Steamrollers basketball team including Ernie Calverley, Earl Shannon, Kenny Sailors, Mel Riebe, George Norstrand and Lee Roy Robbins. Calverley and Shannon had been stars at the University of Rhode Island (when it was still named Rhode Island State) before turning pro with the local team in the Basketball Association of America (which preceded the NBA).

As Topps was signing Oden, its trading card rival Upper Deck was recruiting Kevin Durant, the University of Texas freshman who is viewed as Oden’s chief competition as the top pick in Thursday’s NBA draft. Durant will make his pro card debut in Upper Deck’s 2007 Goudey baseball set among a dozen personalities from other sports Upper Deck will include.

WISHING BIDS: A Wish Come True, Inc., opens its annual auction tomorrow, with close to 100 lots of signed sports memorabilia, show-biz autographs, vacation trips and more up for bid online at www.awish.org. Proceeds will help the Warwick-based organization grant wishes to deserving children. Highlights include artifacts signed by sports heroes like Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Alex Rodriguez, Cal Ripken, the 2004 Boston Red Sox, Jeff Gordon and Lance Armstrong; celebrities like Frank Sinatra, Madonna, Tony and Carmella Soprano [Edie Falco and James Gandolfini, U2’s Bono and Zeppo Marx; jewelry, hot air balloon rides, and vacation trips. The bidding will continue through July 15.

VINATIERI SIGNING: Former Patriots place-kicker Adam Vinatieri will be signing autographs on Saturday from 10 to 11 a.m. at Your Sports Memorabilia Store in Portsmouth (2560 East Main Rd.) Les Dunbar and Marsha Petrone have details at (401) 293-0977 and at www.yoursportsmemorabiliastore.com.

NON-SPORT SHOW: Harry Martin’s My Mummy Productions has a non-sport collectors show (cards, comics, toys, etc.) today from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the South Attleboro Knights of Columbus Hall (304 Highland Ave.)