Petrović had coached the Croatia men's national basketball team on three occasions: in 1995 when they finished third in EuroBasket, between 1999 and 2001 when they finished seventh in the 2001 EuroBasket and from 2016 to 2017; on 23 March 2016, Petrović was named head coach of the senior men's Croatia national team for the third time in his head coaching career. In August 2016 Croatia managed to reach the 2016 Summer Olympics tournament by surprisingly winning qualifying tournament in Turin, Italy. At the Olympic finals, Croatia lost in the quarterfinal of the tournament from Serbia. On 15 September 2017, following a loss to host Russia in the round of 16 at EuroBasket, Petrović resigned from Croatia bench.